


Hominem Eodem

by Becuzimmanerd (unknownxcelebrity)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Dirty Talk, Dominant Bottom, Hair Kink, Hair-pulling, Implied Mpreg, Incest (kind of), M/M, Parent/Child Incest, Pining, Possessive Behavior, Soul mate, Switching, Threesome - M/M/M, Torture, Veela, Wings, bond, creature!fic, dream realm, fae
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-13 01:56:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 62,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5690182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknownxcelebrity/pseuds/Becuzimmanerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lucius Malfoy knew the moment he slipped two drops of the glistening purple potion into his wife's wine at dinner eighteen years ago, that he was giving up his chance to have a mate.  As the years went by, that decision became nothing but a distant memory, that is, until July 31, 1997 when he feels his mate come into their inheritance. </p><p>-</p><p> <em> “I know you’re not going to listen to me but...just remember that you do have a chance to be happy, Lucius. Working toward that happiness doesn’t mean you’re working against Draco’s.”</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Transitioning

**Author's Note:**

> There aren't enough H/D/L fics out there, probably because most people aren't as warped as I am. This is my attempt to add one more to that sinfully short list.
> 
> Just as a general warning for anyone that stumbled in here, this fic will have incest (of a sort) and will delve into the relationship between Draco and Lucius. This is not a sharing Harry fic, there will be no joint custody. You've been warned.

Lucius shot up in bed, his heart beating frantically in his chest and his magic whirling wildly around the room, knocking over the furniture and blowing out the few lit candles placed around the chamber. Sweat was pouring down his face, plastering his blonde hair to his cheeks and forehead, and his his breath was coming in short, haphazard gasps. The dark, swirling, burn-like mark on the side of Lucius’ neck, just under his jaw line was burning horribly and caused him to reach up and clutch at it as he hissed out in pain.

His mate was coming into their inheritance and it was a rather torturous one if the pain racing through his body was anything to go by.

 _I have to get to him_ , Lucius thought, every fiber of his being pushing him to run from his bedroom and find his mate to curl himself around them and comfort them through this transition. He had stood shakily from his bed and magically changed his clothes before a sickening, heart-wrenching thought stopped him dead in his tracks.

It wasn’t his mate in pain, it was Draco’s. 

He had waited twenty years to feel his mate through their bond and now that they were there, he had no claim to them. He had thrown it away eighteen years ago when he had given Narcissa that potion. Lucius didn’t regret it, he would do it all over again if given the chance, but that didn’t lessen the tightening in his chest.

Lucius sighed before quickly walking over to the fireplace along the back wall of his bedroom. It wasn’t equipped for floo travel but he could still contact his son. He had just reached his hand into the floo powder jar sitting on the mantle, when Draco’s frantic face appeared hovering above the green flames. 

“Father!”

“I’m here.” Lucius said calmly as he bent down and leaned forward enough for Draco to see him. 

“My mate is coming into their inheritance.” Draco told his father quickly and Lucius tried his best to appear shocked and happy for his heir, his time as a spy helping to mask the heartache he was feeling. “I can feel their pain but I don’t know how to get to them, I can’t sense where they are.”

“Calm down.” The older Malfoy ordered, “If they’re behind powerful wards, then you won’t sense their location. Go find a map in the Zabini library, cut your hand and place it above the map and concentrate on the mating bond. The blood should fall on their location no matter what magic they’re using to conceal themselves.”

Draco just stared at his father that he was crazy, as though he didn’t believe that something like that would work and Lucius was half tempted to reach through the fireplace and slap the kid. They didn’t have time for him to question Lucius. 

“Trust me.” Lucius hissed, “leave this connection open and go do it. Tell me what you discover before you apparate.” 

Draco stared at Lucius for a few more moments before sighing and standing up from his kneeling position. “I’ll be right back.” Lucius heard his son’s voice reply before the sound of a door opening and slamming shut echoed through the Master bedroom of Malfoy Manor.

That boy didn’t realize how lucky he was. Lucius had been waiting for his mate, researching everything he could about the bonds for half of his life, while Draco had lucked out and found his mate a month after his own inheritance. He would never have to marry a random suitor to keep the Malfoy line alive or know the pain of pining for a person he had never met and wasn’t even of age yet. 

Lucius squashed down the creeping feelings of jealousy and roughly reminded himself that this was what being a parent meant. Working to ensure that your children had a better life, an easier life, than you did. 

“They’re in London.” Draco gasped as his face reappeared in the fire. “12 Grimmauld Place.”

It felt as though someone had doused him in ice water. That was the order headquarters and there were only a handful of children staying there over the summer. Only one of which, had a birthday in July.

Potter.

Good Merlin, it could have been anyone else. Maybe Draco’s life wasn’t going to be easier than Lucius’ after all.

“I know the place.” Lucius admitted with a sigh and held up his hand to stop the flood of questions that immediately spilled from Draco’s mouth. “Meet me on the sidewalk out front.” He didn’t wait for his son to reply before he ended the fire call and stormed through the Manor to the apparition point. 

His feet had no more than crossed the threshold of the apparition room, when he disappeared with a pop and reappeared outside of the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters. The only streetlight on that stretch of road was flickering ominously and every light inside of 12 Grimmauld place was brightly light and blood curdling screams were echoing through the night. Thankfully the building was under a fidelius or every muggle on the street would have been awake and alerting the authorities. 

“How do you know this place?” Draco asked as he popped into existence beside his Father, every muscle in his young body taunt as he heard his mate’s screams inside of the unknown house.

“It’s the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.” Lucius replied. “The only reason you can see it is because of that blood magic you preformed and the fact your mate is inside.” Draco hadn’t torn his eyes away from the building and Lucius would have been surprised if the teenager heard even half of what he had just said. “It’ll be filled with light wizards, so watch your tongue.”

Lucius took a deep breath to steel himself against the sounds of his mate’s pain and walked slowly up toward the doorway, his son on his heels. The door itself wasn’t locked, there were so many other protections on the building that the idea of a deadbolt was almost laughable, and the two blondes carefully made their way inside to find over a dozen people crowded into the the building’s living area.

The screams had intensified now that they were inside and the smell of a newly transitioning dark veela filled Lucius’ nostrils. Potter was lying on the couch in the living area and it looked as though every order member in residence was tending to him, trying to discover the cause of the pain he was experiencing.

“He’s transitioning.” Lucius said over the boy’s screams as he walked into the living area, an arm around Draco’s shoulders to keep the younger man from throwing himself at Potter. In a moment, over a dozen wands were pointed in his direction and Lucius calmly raised his free arm in surrender. “Put the wands away. Potter is going through a creature inheritance and my son is his mate.”

As though on cue, Draco renewed his fight against his father’s hold and even went so far as to reach for the wand in his holster. Lucius was faster however, and swiped it from his fingers before a spell could be cast. 

“Are you certain?” Molly Weasley asked, looking back and forth between Potter and Draco as though trying to visibly discover the bound between them. 

“Only one way to be sure.” Lucius let his arm fall from Draco’s shoulders and watched in amusement as the boy ran to Potter, knocking over Lupin and Black in his haste, and curled himself around Potter with a growl.

It was only well tuned will power that kept Lucius from growling right back and pressing himself against the boy’s other side. 

The moment Draco and Potter touched, the screams that had filled the air, ceased. The dark veela only let out a pleasured moan before he fell to sleep in his mate’s arms.

“That answers that, should we leave them alone and converse in the kitchen?” Without waiting for a reply, Lucius turned on his heel and made his way out of the room, smirking darkly when he heard footsteps following behind him.

“What’s going on here, Malfoy? How did your son get in here, you’re not the secret keeper.” Black thundered the moment the door to the kitchen closed with a thunk. Lucius simply eyed the former Gryffindor in amusement as he slowly took a seat at the long table. 

“As I said, Draco is Potter’s mate and it was that bond that allowed Draco entrance. Fate magic is more powerful than that of wizards, after all.”

The other wizards in the room let out a collective, exhausted sigh before taking their seats at the table. It was two o’clock in the morning and despite the excitement, it was clear everyone was tired beyond measure.

“He’s lucky then, that his mate was older than him.” Lupin whispered with his head in his hands. “I can’t imagine if he had to go through that alone, I’ve never seen a creature inheritance that painful.”

“Harry has a high pain tolerance, too.” The youngest Weasley son, Raymond, said. “I’ve seen him take a cutting curse without so much as a whimper. For something to make him scream like that…”

“Yes, dark veela inheritances are well known for their pain intensity.” Lucius replied, “They’re also one of the few creatures that will put off the inheritance until their mate has already transitioned. If Draco were any younger, it could have been years before Mister Potter underwent his change. A self defense mechanism, I suppose.”

"James didn’t have any dark veela blood in his family.” Black replied, moving to stand up only to have Lupin pull him back down by his shirt sleeve. 

“Obviously he did, Black or I wouldn’t be here. It must have been so diluted that no one in the line took on the characteristics. Potter’s power and his connection to Draco are most likely the only reasons the blood was activated in him.”

The room lapsed into silence once again, everyone looked moments away from falling asleep in their chairs while Lucius was digging his fingers into the wood of the table as he tried to fight off the overwhelming need to be near his mate. 

“Can I have a word with you alone?” Severus asked with thinly concealed anger in his voice. “Afterward I’ll show you to the empty room and you can get some sleep.”

No one argued with Severus’ words and Lucius heaved out a sigh before standing up and following after the tense man. He was led through the dark and dilapidated manor and was roughly pushed into an empty bedroom on the third floor.

He had expected Severus to start yelling or throwing things, which were his usual displays of fury, but he merely placed a complicated silencing charm on the door and leaned heavily against it, his eyes narrowing in Lucius’ direction. 

“What?” There was no response and Lucius let out an annoyed sigh as he sat down on the musty bed and waited for his friend to use his big person words.

Severus’ glare seemed to harden and sharpen into twin daggers the longer the two were in the room together. “Do you want me to use Legilimency? Is that what this is? A test to see if I’ve kept the skill up? If not, then you’ll need to talk like a human in order for me to understand why you’re obviously upset with me.”

“Draco’s mate?” 

“Could you use complete sentences, please? What about Draco’s mate?”

Severus’ arms were crossed over his chest and Lucius was amused to see that the younger man’s hands were clenching and unclenching rhythmically as though he wanted nothing more than to march across the room and strike Lucius or grab him by his robes and shake him.

“Why in the name of Merlin are you referring to Potter as Draco’s mate, when he’s yours?”

Oh, that’s what had Severus’ wand in a knot.

“Because he is Draco’s mate. I told you this was how it had to be, I’m not going to let Draco suffer because of my mistake.”

“Usually having a child isn’t referred to as a mistake.”

Lucius didn’t validate that statement with a response and instead stood from the bed to walk gingerly over to the window and to peer out at the darkened garden. 

“He wasn’t the mistake, the potion was, Severus. Please don’t act like an imbecile.”

Severus was there, he had been the one to make the potion in question and had tried to talk Lucius out of the rash decision he was making at the time. There was no reason for him to act ignorant the events in question. 

“You’re the one being an imbecile. You’ve been waiting for a mate for decades. You deserve one after everything you’ve been through. Why would you give all of that up, Lucius?”

“I’m giving it all to Draco.” Lucius said softly, still staring out the window at the fading stars and the full moon.”It wouldn’t be fair to him to ask him to share. You said I deserved a mate, but so does he. He deserves someone that will love only him for the rest of the their lives, not someone he has to share with his father.”

“You are willing to do that for him and assume that he wouldn’t do the same? I’m amazed at how little you think of him.”

“Even if he was willing.” Lucius huffed, angry that Severus would dare doubt his feelings for Draco. “I doubt Potter would be thrilled with being passed between two Malfoys. I imagine Draco will have enough of a challenge getting that boy to accept just him as a mate.”

“Lucius-”

“Stop it, Severus. I’m not going to change my mind on this, it doesn’t matter what you say.”

He hadn’t made this decision rashly. Unlike his choice to slip that potion into Narcissa’s wine at dinner at those years ago, this one had been made after weeks of consideration. He had read through every journal in the Malfoy vaults that were written by Fae in his situation and spent hours venting his thoughts to his best friend. 

This was what was best for everyone, of that, Lucius was sure and it didn’t matter what argument Severus came up with, his stance on this was solid and infallible. The other man was just wasting his breath.

“You’re too stubborn for your own good.” Severus whispered and Lucius spared a glance in his friend’s direction to find that he was slumped against the door with his eyes closed tightly and a frown pulling at the corners of his lips. “I know you’re not going to listen to me but...just remember that you do have a chance to be happy, Lucius. Working toward that happiness doesn’t mean you’re working against Draco’s.”

“He didn’t have a choice in this.” Lucius replied, ignoring the hope that had built in his chest after his friend’s words. The feeling was pointless and false, all it would do was make the pain even more unbearable. “He shouldn’t be the one that has to pay for it.”

“You’re not listening to me!” Severus finally growled and Lucius froze when potion stained fingers gripped him my the robes and spun him around. “No one needs to pay for it, Lucius! No one needs to suffer, you’re just being a Gryffindor and sacrificing yourself for nothing.”

Severus’ eyes were alight with an internal fire, his anger was almost palatable and his hands were shaking uncontrollably where they were clenched around Lucius’ robe. He had never seen his friend this angry and for a split second he was tempted to remark that the spy’s carefully crafted mask, was slipping. Now probably wasn’t the best time to point that out.

“Your mate is still alive, Lucius.” Severus remarked softly, the anger in his eyes having died and been replaced with something softer. Pain. “Please don’t throw that away.”

“I’m tired. I should get some rest in preparation for my son’s coming battle with Potter.” Lucius replied, his voice cracking as he recalled the death of Severus’ mate at the hands of the Dark Lord, the screams that had left his friend’s lips as he was held down and forced to watch Regulus as he was tortured for hours before the Dark Lord ended his life. 

“This isn’t over.” Severus snarled and released his hold on Lucius, throwing him roughly against the wall before turning on his heels and storming out of the room with his robes billowing out behind him.

It most certainly isn’t. He thought to himself and let out a soft sigh before climbing into the small bed and willing himself to sleep.

It felt as though he had only just closed his eyes when he heard a thunderous crash from below him, followed by the entire Manor shaking with the after effects of a rather powerful blasting charm. “What the fuck did you think you were doing, Malfoy?!”

“Ow, stop that!”

“You were groping me in my sleep! Ow! Ow! Owowowowow!”

“Stop cursing me and let me touch you!”

“Do you think I’m stupid! Ow! I’m not- ow- letting you lay a finger on me! Ow, what the hell is that?”

Lucius laughed softly to himself before casting a wordless and wandless sound dampening spell on the room and pulled the blankets tighter around himself before falling back to sleep. 

Draco would need to handle his mate in his own way.


	2. Kind of Like Soul Mates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, thank you for everyone that commented, clicked the kudos button, or bookmarked this! Seeing the feedback really made my week! I'm currently in my second semester of nursing school and as such, the time I have for writing is...limited. But I will be trying to get in at least 2-3 thousand words per week.

“Potter,stop it!” Draco dodged another borderline dark curse from the dark veela and winced when he landed wrong on his ankle, causing it to twist under his weight.

The Gryffindor was panting lightly, clutching his wand in one shaky hand and his side with the other. Obviously, his lack of contact with Draco was causing him pain but the idiot was too ignorant to know the true cause of his discomfort.

The wand fell from Potter’s fingers and Draco took the opportunity to launch himself at his mate and tackle him to the floor. “You have to calm down, Potter. The more you fight this, the longer the transition will take and the longer you’ll be in pain. Ow!”

Draco pulled away from the smirking brunet who had just sunk his teeth into Draco’s forearm. Potter wasn’t stupid and he used the distraction to get a hand in Draco’s hair and to forcefully rip the blonde off of him.

“What are you talking about?” Potter snarled as he reversed their positions, straddling Draco and bending his head backward with his hold on the blonde’s hair. “Why were you touching me in my sleep?”

“You were transitioning.” Draco explained with a gasp when Potter pulled his hair roughly. “I’m your mate and when I got here you were in pain and screaming. Skin to skin contact with me is the only thing that soothed you.”

For a moment, Potter didn’t look the least bit convinced and kept his glare firmly in place, but then he suddenly released Draco’s hair and let out a startled, pained gasp as their contact was broken. The younger man scrambled to place the hand on Draco’s forearm and his face softened as he looked down at Draco who was doing his damndest to appear as earnest as possible.

Not something that was easy to do when a scowl was his default facial expression.

“Creature inheritance,huh?” Potter asked with a sigh. "What kind? Sirius said there wasn’t any creature blood in my father’s family.” He leaned back so he was no longer leaning over Draco like a lion about to devour its prey and was instead sitting on his stomach calmly.

“Dark veela.” Draco said slowly and felt his eyes widen comically when Potter only nodded and moved to stand up, dragging Draco’s arm with him.

“Makes sense,” the dark haired man said as he pulled Draco onto the couch so that they were sitting side by side. “That would explain-” He held up Draco’s arm, which still had Potter’s hand wrapped tightly around it. “-the level of pain and the need for contact.”

Draco froze and simply stared at his mate as though he had grown a second head. He thought he’d have to battle with Potter for hours just to get him to see that he wasn’t lying and even then he hadn’t expected the Gryffindor to understand any of it. He was muggle raised after all, none of this was taught to him growing up and it was expected for him to have a lack of knowledge on the subject.

“Don’t stare at me like that. I can read, you know. When Dean turned seventeen and went from goofy guy, to ‘oh Merlin, bend me over right now’ guy, I found myself a tad bit interested in the idea of changing species overnight.”

Draco let out a low growl at the mention of Potter’s attraction to someone other than himself and Potter only laughed and shoved Draco’s shoulder roughly. “He’s straight, Ferret. Even I was attracted to him, he wouldn’t be your competition.”

“So a dark veela.” Potter continued and Draco’s gaze was immediately drawn to his green eyes that were flickering with gold from the fire’s reflection. “Can’t say I know much about them. The book Hermione gave me only mentioned their transition was harder than most, never mentioned what they were. Do you know anything about them?”

“Of course, Potter.” Draco sneered and it was only the pointed look from Harry that reminded him that this was his mate he was talking to, not his arch rival from school. “Dark veela are simply male veela, with most of the same abilities as their female counterparts.”

“Oh. What are you then? I would have guessed a veela with that hair but I heard you had your inheritance in June and Dark Veela don’t transition until their mates have.”

So Potter had been reading. Even Draco had only learned that piece of information a year ago in preparation for his coming birthday and hopefully a future mate. It wasn’t common knowledge among wizards.

“A fae. They’re descendants of the high elves that look mostly human except for our exquisite beauty and an affinity for wandless magic. ”

Potter rolled his eyes at the beauty comment but otherwise showed no indication that he had heard Draco. The veela kept his eyes staring straight at the fireplace and moved his hand down Draco’s arm until he interlocked their fingers and rested them on the cushions of the sofa.

“How does this mate thing, work?” Potter asked without turning away from the fireplace. “I never looked into it after Sirius told me an inheritance wasn’t something I would need to worry about.”

“Black should have kept his mouth shut.” Draco growled and let out a startled yelp when Potter reached up to slap his soundly in the back of the head. “Afterall,” he continued as though nothing had happened, “everyone knows that with enough magic in your veins, anything is possible. I would have been more surprised if you hadn’t come into an inheritance.”

That brought a cocky smile to Potter’s face and Draco was tempted to lean over and capture those curling lips with his own. No...control...Draco, Potter didn’t even know how mates worked and the last thing he needed was to have a Fae throwing themselves at him.

“To answer your question though, mates are two people that are perfect for each other in every way, even if they don’t know it yet. Everyone has a mate and is drawn to them, but for creatures, it’s more powerful and harder to ignore thanks to an increase in magic.”

“So it’s like a soul mate, the other half of a person’s soul.”

“Well, it’s debated whether or not a soul is even real.” Draco corrected, “It’s commonly thought that the idea of a soul was founded by religious muggles and in fact humans and other animals are simply-”

“It’s like a soul mate, right Draco?” Potter asked pointedly, his green eyes turning away from the fire to stare at Draco in amusement.

“It’s the person that- yes, Harry, it’s like a soul mate.” Because if that’s how he was going to get Potter to understand it and accept it, then the Gryffindor could believe whatever he wanted.

“Draco Malfoy is my soul mate.” Potter whispered to himself while staring blankly into the fire. “And I’m strangely…” Potter looked away from the flames to gaze over at a questioning Draco. “...very happy about that.”

“You’re continuing to transition as we speak.” Draco replied breathily, leaning toward his mate subconsciously. “An hour ago, it wouldn’t have made you happy and in an hour still you’ll think yourself in love with me until you manage to control the bond’s influence over you.”

“Oh.” Potter blinked up at Draco, his gaze zooming away from the blonde’s mouth to rest on his eyes. “Then this feeling isn’t really mine?”

“Not entirely.”

“So I probably shouldn’t kiss you right now.” Draco’s eyes fell down to Potter’s mouth as he spoke, watching as his lips formed each breathy word.

“Probably not.” He whispered as he leaned in and pressed his lips to Potter’s.

-

_Crash_

“Ron! You’re going to wake them up!”

“Maybe I should, ‘Mione. It’s indecent, having them sleeping there like that in the middle of the living room. “

“They’re mates and they’re just sleeping, it’s not obscene.”

“The way they’re all wrapped around each other is definitely not what I’d call decent.”

“Shut up, Ron.” Harry mumbled sleepily as he burrowed himself closer to the warmth pressed against his front. His pillow smelt so good and he pressed his face closer against it, inhaling every drop of scent he get off of it.

“Are you awake, Harry?” The redhead replied and Harry very nearly threw something at the other man. The whole point of asking someone to be quiet was so they stopped talking.

“I’m trying not to be, go away.”

“Ah, Harry! You’re awake. Come on, breakfast is ready and everyone wants to make sure you’re okay.” Sirius’ voice said and Harry huffed out a sigh before moaning into his pillow.

“This is all your fault, Potter.”

Harry froze at the words that radiated from his pillow, or rather, Malfoy, who he had been using as a pillow. Everything suddenly came back to him, the mind numbing pain, the conversation with Malfoy, even the impromptu snogging session, the memory of which was currently forcing a blush to Harry’s cheeks.

“Both of you, get up.” Sirius said excitedly and Harry’s eyes snapped open when he felt a hand shaking his shoulder insistently. Malfoy was lying on his back, one arm over his head, hanging off the couch arm and the other was lying softly across Harry’s waist.

“Alright, alright, I’m up. Get off of me, Siri.” Harry shook off the older man’s hold and slowly detangled himself from a grumbling and unhappy Malfoy. Once he was on his feet next to Sirius, Harry extended a hand down to the sprawled out blonde and watched in amusement when the Fae’s eyes widened in wonder before taking it and hauling himself up to his feet.

The two men stood just inches apart, their hands clasped together and their eyes locked across the distance between them. Merlin, Harry had never wanted to kiss someone more than he did at that moment. It felt as though every fiber in his being was calling out for him to grip Malfoy by the hair and kiss him senseless.

The blonde must have felt the same way because in the next moment, his lips were being thoroughly devoured and his head was being roughly manipulated by a hold on his hair. Harry moaned loudly against the mouth against his and grasped onto Malfoy’s robes to pull him even closer until their bodies were fitted tightly against each other.

“Draco!”

Malfoy immediately pulled away from Harry as though he’d been slapped and Harry reluctantly let him go before looking over to see a mortified looking Ron, an amused Hermione, and a very upset Lucius Malfoy.

“There’s company, Dragon, do try to act respectably. You are a guest here, afterall.”

Malfoy looked thoroughly guilt ridden and had his eyes firmly locked onto the ground in front of him. From the few times Harry had seen both of the Malfoy’s together, it was plain to see that the only person that could control Draco Malfoy, was his father. Interesting that just a few sentences could get this kind of reaction out of the Ice Prince.

“You’ll have to teach me how to do that, sir.” Harry told Malfoy Senior as he took several steps away from his mate and began walking in the direction of the kitchen. “It’ll come in handy, I’m sure.”

“I would have transferred it to the Hogwarts staff, if such a thing were possible, Potter.”

“I am standing, right here, you know.” Malfoy huffed as he came up behind Harry and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“And unfortunately, so are we. Can you not touch him when I’m right here?” Ron asked, followed by a loud slap that made Harry instantly turn his head to see Hermione scowling at Ron as he rubbed at his ear. Harry couldn’t blame Ron for his discomfort, he wasn’t feeling the same draw that Harry was, there was no way for him to understand how differently Harry felt now compared to just the previous day.

“He’s my mate, Ron.” Harry said to the redhead as though that would explain everything. There was nothing else he could say that would explain this sudden acceptance he had of Malfoy and that Malfoy had of him.

Ron didn’t look the best bit placated and Harry sighed before leaning into his mate as they entered the kitchen where the rest of the Order was seated and eating breakfast as though it was any other day.

All conversation immediately stopped when Harry and Malfoy walked into the room, followed closely by Malfoy Senior, Ron, Hermione, and Sirius.

“Look who finally woke up!” Sirius said happily, rubbing a hand over Harry’s hair as he walked past them to take his usual seat next to Remus. “How you feeling, Prongslet?”

The silence in the room only seemed to thicken at Sirius’ question, as though everyone was wanting to know the exact same thing and were waiting impatiently for an answer.

“Exhausted.” Harry laughed and went to take his seat next to Ron, only to pause when he noticed there wasn’t an open seat next to it. He considered asking for someone to move, but before he could pose the question, Malfoy had made himself comfortable in a vacant seat next to his father. The blonde smirked up at Harry, obviously aware of the internal turmoil that had plagued him.

“I feel like I could have slept for a month.”

“We probably would have too if some people hadn’t woken us up.” Malfoy sent a glare to both Ron and Sirius as though they weren’t already aware of who the blonde was talking about.

“Best that you didn’t dear, you both needed a good meal after that ordeal.” Mrs. Weasley said happily and Harry quickly ducked his head and focused on filling his plate when it seemed as though Malfoy was unsure of whether to smile at the woman’s motherly tone or scowl at the fact that a Weasley had dared to speak to him.

Tonks caught the same look Harry was trying to avoid and a thunderous laugh tore itself from her lips. The laughter effectively disintegrated the uncomfortable tension in the room and everyone eagerly dug into the breakfast feast set in front of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's chapter two! Once again this isn't beta read. I'm an English 1&2 tutor at my college so one would think I had pretty good beta reader skills...but when it comes to my own stuff I completely draw a blank when grammer is concerned, unless it's something pretty major. So if mistakes are found, please let me know, I hate having messy work out there!
> 
> As you can see, this story is going to fluctuate between three different POV's, however,the main one is going to be Lucius because he's the one dealing with the most...stuff. One of the things that really frightens me as a reader is having multiple POV's and reading the same scene five times. In this story, that won't happen. Each scene will be written in the POV that makes the most impact and will not be rewritten again.


	3. Walls, Shields, Blocks, and Hormonal Idiots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't know why I've been updating every six days instead of seven, but...I'm sure no one's going be too upset over it...

_“He’s my mate, Ron.”_

_“He’s my mate, Ron.”_

_“He’s my mate, Ron.”_

Those words echoed through Lucius’ mind, becoming sharper and more painful with each rendition. Everything around him was faded in the background of his mind, he knew what was happening around him but his thoughts were plagued with images of Draco and Potter kissing as though it was the most natural thing in the world. Like they hadn’t spent the last six years hating each other.

Even now, they were sitting across from each other and still managing to make every glance look intimate despite the people surrounding them. People, who were glancing at the pair as though they couldn’t quite believe the sight in front of them.

“Why are you here, father? Not that I’m not grateful for your presence but I thought you’d return to the manor after accompanying me here last night.” Draco said conversationally in a low enough tone that the words would be kept between them.

“The only reason you are sitting at this table right now is because you’re mated to Potter. If I hadn’t walked in with you, you would have been hexed the moment you walked through the front door.” Lucius replied just as softly as Draco had, “I was not about to leave you alone in a house where you were not invited. I also wanted to be here in case you or Potter needed my assistance. I hold infinitely more knowledge of this than you do, though it seems you are both getting along just fine without it.”

And he was surely going to hell for being jealous of that.

“The pull is extremely powerful.” Draco told him happily, “I remember disliking Harry but every minute that passes makes it harder and harder for me to remember why.”

“You need to block it out.” Lucius replied and he only had a touch of satisfaction when Draco frowned at his words. “The more you hate each before the bond, the more the bond tries to compensate to get you to mate as quickly as possible. The moment you consummate this bond with Potter, the magic is going to fade and if you haven’t built a solid foundation before that, then you’re going to be left lying in bed with someone you can’t stand.”

Lucius knew from experience how horrible that was.

Draco sat frozen in his chair, staring down at his scrambled eggs as though they had personally insulted him. Obviously, Lucius had popped whatever bubble of happiness his son had been living in for the last hour but this knowledge would be vital to his happiness in the long run.

“I know I need to, but how?”

Lucius’ eyes were drawn over to Potter, who was laughing at something Richard Weasley had said and he was absolutely stunning with his cheeks flushed and his green eyes shining with amusement. He kept his gaze there, taking in the image of the young man as he answered his son’s question.

“You have to shield part of the bond, not all of it, just enough to keep you from wanting to…” Good Merlin how was he supposed to say this? 

“Fuck him.”

Lucius’ eyes tore away from Potter to stare over at Draco in complete shock. He had raised him better than that! To use such language at the breakfast table…

“Yes, just enough to keep you from doing that.” He didn’t want to cause a scene in front of all these people, but made sure the glare he sent Draco was enough to have him shaking in fear. “It’s not easy, but you should be able to block it long enough to at the very least build a reliable friendship with him. 

At the moment, Lucius was blocking out the entire bond on his end and most it on Harry's as well. It didn’t keep him from wanting Harry, nothing would do that, but it kept him from being consumed with the need to mate and claim him, allowing Lucius to retain his mind and not fall head over heels in love with the veela like Draco was edging on being. The few hours he had been maintaining the shield were exhausting and he couldn’t imagine Draco would be able to hold them, even at half strength, for longer than a few weeks.

It would have to be long enough.

“Speaking of building a relationship.” Draco said, “Can Harry and I stay at the Manor for the rest of break?”

The veela must have heard his name, despite the quiet tone Draco had used, because his eyes immediately shot over to the two blondes.

“Did you say something?”

“I was just asking father if it’d be okay if you and I stayed at the manor until September.” Draco replied sweetly and it was enough to have Lucius fighting back an aggravated groan. The boy needed to control himself, there was no need for him to act like a love sick puppy after less than a day.

“Actually, I think it would be best if you stayed here as long as it was alright with the Order. I imagine Harry feels more comfortable here,” a quick nod from the veela in question answered that query, “and the last thing we want is to have the savior in my parlor if your aunt comes for a visit.”

Both Draco and Harry as well as the few order members that had overheard them, paused and stared at Lucius with wide, fearful eyes.

“I’m definitely staying here.” Harry said with a soft laugh that was meant to hide his fear of Bellatrix, but only seemed to highlight the feelings the teen was experiencing.

“Like I said, that’ll be the easiest and safest plan.Not to mention you’re suppose to have been staying with Zabini’s for the summer. Your sudden relocation would raise questions.” Lucius replied and gave the veela a reassuring smile and a head nod before turning to look over at Draco who was staring at him with his emotionless mask firmly in place.  “Of course I can see to other plans if Draco’s presence is unwanted.”

Lucius looked away from his son, unsure of why exactly Draco’s demeanor had changed so suddenly but deciding that if his son had something to say to him, then he’d say it. Draco had never been very good with keeping his displeasure of a situation unknown.

“I see no problems with it.” Lupin said with a shrug and a glance around the table. “He and Harry need to spend time together and while it might be a bit crowded here-” that statement was met with a scoff from Draco and Lucius’ control momentarily snapped as he reached over to grip his son’s knee tightly and dig his nails into the fabric clad limb. “-it’s the best place for Harry to be.”

“Before Mister Malfoy is allowed residence here, I would be interested to know his position in the coming war.” Severus said, speaking for the first time that morning. He knew very well that Draco had no loyalties to the Dark Lord and the fact that it was Severus asking made Lucius smirk in amusement. No one else had even considered that Draco could be on the opposing side of the fight they were preparing for.

If it hadn’t been revealed now, then Lucius knew that doubts and concerns would weasel their way into the manor, making the coming month very difficult for the newly mated pair.

“Neutral, mostly.” Draco said honestly, straightening up in his seat until he looked like the proper Malfoy heir instead of the love sick fool he had been before. “However in light of recent events, I would be willing to side with my mate on this.”

Harry smiled across the table at Draco and Lucius was tempted to let out a growl when the two teenagers reached across the table to tangle their fingers together for a moment before releasing them.  Hadn't he just told Draco that he needed to control the bond between them? Had he been listening to him at all?

-

The rest of breakfast went rather well all things considered, there were no curses thrown or insults snarled, so Lucius was prepared to call it a success. He and Draco had agreed to travel back to the manor together to gather Draco’s things and then leave his son in the hands of the Order until he went off to school for the new semester. 

There was a pang in the center of his chest at the thought of not seeing his son before he went off to school and having to wait until Christmas to see him again. He may have been hard on Draco but he loved his son desperately despite what many of his associates seemed to believe.

The two blondes were walking down the manor halls toward Draco’s bedroom to gather his belongs and the silence between them was nearly palatable. Lucius knew that his Dragon was upset with him about something but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why. He had only tried to help him all day.

“Are you going to reveal the thoughts on your mind or are you going to continue sulking like a child?” Lucius finally asked as they stopped in front of Draco’s door. “I assure you that I’m unaware of the cause of your anger.”

Draco didn’t say anything as he tore himself through his doorway in a billow of robes that would make Severus envious. Lucius heaved out a sigh before following his son into his room to find that the younger fae was already working on shrinking his entire wardrobe and stuffing it his pocket.

“Why did you lie when you said you didn’t want Harry and I here because of Aunt Bella?” Draco asked without looking back at Lucius, causing the older man to pause as an ice cold wave of dread washed over him.

“I wasn’t lying, the Order is the best place for you both, why would you say something like that?”

“That’s not what I was referring to, _father_.” Somehow, Draco managed to make that word sound like an insult. “I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re lying and while it was true that you thought the Black Manor was the best place for us to stay, the reasons you gave were false.”

“They weren’t lies.” Lucius argued and Draco turned to give his father a look with so much fury that Lucius took a physical step back. He had never seen his son this angry, not even when he had failed to make the quiditch team in first year or received an E on his DADA OWL.

What had him so worked up? First it Severus was mad at him and now Draco.

“You didn’t want us here because you don’t accept Harry as my mate right? Is it because he’s male or because he’s a half blood?”

_What?_

“Draco, that’s not it at all. I don’t care about any of that, he’s your mate! As far as I’m concerned, we can add him to the tapestry for Merlin’s sake!I didn’t want him here because it wouldn’t be safe.”

_And because if I spend everyday in the same house with him, I’m bound to do something that I shouldn’t_. Lucius mentally added.

Lucius watched as Draco silently slammed open drawers and flicked his wand with so much force that he was surprised that nothing exploded. What sound in Lucius’ voice was giving Draco the impression that he was lying? Was it a twist of his lips or a gleam in his eye that his son was misreading?

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, nearly forcing Lucius to take a seat in the chair beside the door. How could he have forgotten?

Draco was in full mating mode and he most certainly wasn’t taking control of the bond. Until he did, his mind would be focused on two things: mating and protecting. Draco was overreacting to whatever Lucius had done to draw his attention. He was trying to weed out the members of his clan that wished his new mate harm.

And he was doing a terrible job of it.

“Draco, you need to control this bond, all of these feelings, all of this anger and insecurity you’re feeling isn’t real.”

His son rounded on him, his silver eyes flashing and Lucius knew instantly what was coming but that knowledge didn’t take away any of the sting.

“What do you know about it? _You’re not even mated._ ” Draco snarled, delicate swirling designs appearing on the left side of his face, starting from his forehead and extending down to below his collar. This was the beginning of a fae transformation and the sight immediately put Lucius on edge. Lucius was a man of incredible self control (as well as modesty) but having another fae transforming in his house, yelling at him about his mate, was enough to crack even his hard earned control.

“You wouldn’t even have your wretched little mate if it wasn’t for me!” He growled, his own markings coming to the surface and his back itching with the need to release his wings and display them for his opponent. “I’ve done nothing but try to help you and this is how you repay me? With distrust and misplaced anger?”

“You want him for yourself.”

Because apparently that was a logical jump. One minute Lucius didn’t approve of the mate and now he wanted to steal him. He raised a hormonal idiot...or a genius, since Lucius did in fact want Harry for himself…

“Murus Liga!” Lucius shouted with a wave of his wand and watched in amusement as Draco’s markings immediately disappeared and the fury in his eyes died out before he collapsed onto the bed face first.

“Wall Bind?” Draco mumbled around the comforter without lifting his face from the bed. “What did that do?”

“Walled off a portion of the bond magic since it’s obvious you couldn’t do it yourself. It’s not a difficult spell if you wanted to use it on Potter.” Of course it made it almost impossible to alter how much of the bond you were closing and was deemed a slight to a creature's honor to have to use it...but what Draco didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Lucius returned his wand to his cane and relaxed back into his chair as he watched his son groaning loudly across the room.  He had apparently been correct that the bond was causing Draco’s actions if he was feeling this upset over them.

“Why did I say those things?”

“Because you’re a moron.”

“I can take you, old man.”

“I doubt that. In any case, like I told you at breakfast, the bond magic will be affecting you and Potter until you mate, pulling you together, but also increasing your need to protect each other. You’re not mated and the bond isn’t complete, so you’re...overcompensating a bit.” Lucius said lightly and chuckled at the dark glare Draco sent him from his position on the bed.

“You could have mentioned that.”

“It doesn’t usually happen in fae, Draco. How was I supposed to know that your luck would be as abysmal as Potter’s?”

It so rare that none of the books Lucius had sent for even mentioned that it was a possibility for those with fae blood. He only learned about from one of the family journals he stumbled upon which outlined the entire experience from a first person point of view. 

“Great. It’s rubbing off.” Draco moaned and slowly sat up into a sitting position and let his face fall into his hands.

“Come on, you should be going, Potter’s transition is still new, you don’t want to be away from him for too long.” Lucius said with an amused smirk as he stood from his chair and waited for Draco to gather his things.

“Do you think I could borrow some of the books in the library? I obviously don’t know everything and I have a feeling Harry would like to see them as well.”

“Left hand inner robe pocket.” Lucius replied and walked out of the room, expecting his son to follow behind him.

“How did you-”

“Come along, Dragon.”

He didn’t see the smile on Draco’s face or the glimmer of distrust still lingering in his eyes as he stared at his father’s back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still absolutely floored that anyone is even reading this. I've had a rather horrible day today and when I logged on to see how many people had shown support of this story, I was nearly brought to tears. But I'm an emotional person and cry during almost every episode of Glee...so take from that what you will. 
> 
> I also started a livejournal that will have updates and other random stuff on it...  
> http://becuzimmanerd.livejournal.com/


	4. Delicate Information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is a little longer than I wanted, but if I cut this at its original stopping point it would have been too short...so one longer than average chapter it is.

Harry didn’t understand why he was so anxious for Malfoy to return, all he knew was that the idea of leaving the couch and turning his back on the fireplace, filled him dread. He wasn’t in any pain at the moment, Malfoy Senior had made it known that the transition was almost complete and the pain might never return, especially if he kept in contact with Malfoy.

“Mum was wanting to know if you guys wanted to go into town tomorrow and get our supplies.” Ron said loudly, plopping himself down on the couch next to Harry. “Since we just got the lists she thinks we might be able to beat the crowds by going early.”

“It might be the only time they let us out of this place until school starts.” Hermione added as the sat down gently next to Ron and sent Harry a warm smile. 

“That sounds great.” While Harry was glad that he hadn’t been forced to return to the Dursley’s this summer, being cooped up in this dark house with so many people packed into it, made him claustrophobic and desperate for a little fresh air.

The three friends sat in silence, the only sounds being the soft clanking of dishes as they washed themselves in the kitchen. 

Harry felt ridiculous for how he reacted to Malfoy before, kissing him in full view of his best friends, his godfather, and even the older Malfoy. Then he’d gone and made goo goo eyes with him all through breakfast. Of course his friends were uncomfortable.

At the time he hadn’t thought there was anything wrong with his behavior, however, the moment Malfoy had disappeared through the floo, mortification had set in

“Guys, about what happened earlier-”

“It’s fine Harry.” Hermione said quickly just as Ron replied with, “Don’t mention it! Please don’t mention it.”

“I should have controlled myself better, it’s just this bond with Draco-”

Ron let out a low groan and sunk further into the couch, “He’s Draco, now?”

“-is so new that I just...lost my mind.”

Harry bit his lip at the sight of Ron covering his face with large hands and laying on the couch with his head in Hermione’s lap. 

“Honestly, Harry, from what little I know about mate bonds-”

“There’s something you only know a little about?” One rough pull to a few strands of bright red hair, silenced the talkative redhead.

“-you can’t be held accountable for most of your actions until the mating bond is complete. There’s even a whole slew of laws forgiving pre-bond behavior.”

Good to know he could go on a crime spree if he was so inclined.

Harry smiled at the ridiculousness of the idea, before shooting his gaze toward the fireplace when it suddenly blazed green and Malfoy stepped out of it as though it was the easiest thing in the world. Damn purebloods and their knack for magical travel.

Despite every thought that had raced through Harry’s mind when Malfoy was away, the moment he saw him again, all he wanted to do was throw himself at the blonde and taste those lips again. Friends be damned. 

“You’re back!” Harry exclaimed and pushed himself from the couch to approach his mate, only to pause when Malfoy pointed his wand between Harry’s eyes. “What are you doing?”

“Do you trust me?” Malfoy asked and even though he knew it shouldn’t have been his answer, he replied with a nod of his head and a wide smile.

“What? No! Nonononono! You are not casting a spell on my-” Ron thundered and charged at Draco. He only managed to get halfway across the distance seperating them before the spell left Malfoy's lips. 

“Murus Liga.” A blue light shot out of Malfoy’s wand and struck its mark.In an instant, the need to kiss Draco, to drag him onto the nearest flat surface and snog him within an inch of his life, vanished. He still wanted to get to know him and be close to the blonde but he felt infinitely more in control.

“What was that, Ferret?” 

“A spell to block most of the bond magic from affecting him. Personally, I wouldn’t mind Potter throwing himself at me, but knowing he’s not doing it of his own free will, takes all the fun out of it.” The blonde replaced his wand in its holster and sent a cocky sneer in Ron’s direction before replacing it with a kind smile and turning to Harry. “Where will I be staying? I imagine we’ll be bunking together, Potter.”

“Y-yeah, I moved my stuff into one of the empty bedrooms while you were gone so we could be alone. I mean there’s two beds and everything and it’s right next to Sirius’ room, we just don’t have to share one with Ron since three people would be kind of crowded.”

Smooth thy name is Harry.

“Right,” Malfoy chuckled. “Lead the way then, I’d like to unpack my things before you give me the grand tour.”

“Of course! It’s this way, Dr-Malfoy.” Harry turned so fast that one foot got twisted under the other, causing him to flail uncontrollably for a moment before he regained his balance with relieved chuckle.

“Oh Harry.” Hermione whispered with a giggle just as Ron let out a pained groan.

“You’re both horrible friends.” Harry said laughingly as he turned to his best friends, walking backwards toward the stairs. “Thought you should know.”

“Leave them be, oh mate of mine.” Malfoy said as he took Harry’s arm in a gentle grip and spun him around so he was facing the direction he was walking in. “You can barely stand without hurting yourself, let’s not tempt the fates.”

A week ago those words would have been said with a sneer and followed up with an insult but now, he gave Harry a warm smile, the likes of which he had never seen on the Slytherin’s face, and pulled the other man against his side. Harry knew that without the bond pulling them together, this contact would have felt uncomfortable and would have sent his skin crawling, however, that knowledge didn’t stop him from relaxing into his mate’s hold like puppy getting it’s ears scratched for the first time. 

“Here it is, it’s not anything special.” Harry stood in the doorway of the room he and Sirius had spent the last hour rearranging and spelling the dust out of. Up until just a few days ago, it had been filled with horrible portraits that made Walburga Black’s look kind. Everyone had been happy with their rooming arrangements at the time and it had been left empty and waiting for a new use.

“Like I care, Potter.” Draco chuckled and walked into the room before throwing himself onto one of the twin beds that sat on separate sides of the room. “There’s enough room for my wardrobe and my trunk, so I’m happy.” With a flick of his wand, the items in question re-sized themselves and gently floated to their respected places.

“Besides, I get to look at your handsome face all night, how could I complain about that?”

The devious smirk that graced Malfoy’s lips was enough to have Harry’s face blazing as he turned his back on the blonde to slowly approach his own bed and take a seat. 

“Are you the one saying that?”

“What?”

“Is Draco Malfoy the one speaking to me or is it the bond?”

At Malfoy’s quizzical look, Harry ducked his head to hide his face and turned his attention to his callused fingertips and broken nails.

“Who said it can’t be both? I’m not going to lie and say I’m not affected by the bond but my father blocked off half of its power and I still think you are the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. To be fair though, I’ve thought that since fourth year when you took on that horntail with nothing but a broom.”

Harry’s gaze snapped up to Draco to find that he was lounging back on the bed, his feet crossed at the ankle and his arms behind his head. A smirk was tugging at his lips and his eyes were watching Harry in amusement. 

“I had a wand too.”

“You had a wand to simply call forth the broom.” Draco corrected. “If you were any kind of wizard you would have thrown up a couple of shield charms or at least made your clothes fire resistant. I mean honestly, your best friend’s brother is a dragon tamer, you never thought to send the bloke an owl?”

“Never occurred to me.” Harry replied honestly. “Moody, well, Crouch, told me about the summoning spell and I just assumed my flying skills would be enough to get me by.”

Malfoy’s grey eyes rolled up toward the ceiling before he let out an amused sigh that morphed into a chuckle. “Gryffindors.”

Harry scowled at the blonde, who didn’t see it with attention turned away from him. Obviously Malfoy wasn’t so overwhelmed with the magic of the bond that he couldn’t get his customary digs in. For the moment, Harry was going to consider that a good thing. 

“Ron and Hermione were just talking about going into town tomorrow, if you wanted to join us.” One of Malfoy’s eyes opened and turned to Harry, the corresponding eyebrow lifting up toward the blonde’s hairline. 

“Suppose if I wore a good glamour and there was something in for me I could be convinced.”

“Books and a day out of this house. You’re not getting anything else out of me.” Because Harry wasn’t stupid and even he could read the lustful gaze that currently scanning him from head to toe.

“I liked you better when you were starving for me.” Draco said with a wide, beaming smile that made Harry’s chest tighten. “But sure, I’ll go buy textbooks with you.”

Those words shouldn’t have made him as happy as they did.

-

Lucius was trying desperately to stay awake as he sat behind his desk in his study. It had only been a week since he’d closed off his bond with Harry and the amount of magic he was sacrificing to keep the wall in place was making it increasingly difficult for him to stay awake for the entire day. His chin had only just touched his chest, when the mark on his arm began to burn, effectively waking him up and putting him on high alert. 

Why hadn’t he gotten any warning? It was extremely rare for the Dark Lord to-

A yank at his belly button had Lucius flying through time and space before he was unceremoniously dumped into the entrance hall of the Dark Lord’s newest hideout, a dilapidated muggle manor that hadn’t seen life in almost a century. The only reason it was still standing was because of the powerful magic that had been infused into its very frame.

Lucius felt naked standing in the hall wearing nothing but his casual robes but the presence of a dozen others dressed similarly, put his mind temporarily to rest. 

“What happened?” He whispered as he saw Severus pop into existence beside him. “Did you have warning?”

“No.” Severus said simply, his emotionless mask firmly in place. “Strengthen your shields, you don’t want him seeing the memories you couldn’t get rid of.” With that, he swept past Lucius and followed after the other confused death eaters who were heading toward the meeting hall.

Lucius’ fingers felt numb at his side as he stepped into the large hall filled with restless men and women and the Dark Lord, looking as terrifying as usual, perched atop his throne of bones. His bond was so new and he was so exhausted, he had very little magic left to maintain two shields and if the Dark Lord asked anything of him, he’d be hard pressed to perform a lumos at the moment. 

“I have heard some very concerning news.” The Dark Lord hissed as he slowly stood from his throne and moved to the center of the room. “It has come to my attention that a boy came into his creature inheritance this summer.”

Merlin no. How in the world could Dark Lord know of Harry’s inheritance, there were only a handful of people in the world that knew that information and as far as Lucius believed, they were  
all trustworthy. 

“The dis-concerning part is-” The Dark Lord stormed toward Lucius and his segment of the circle. “-HIS FATHER DIDN’T INFORM ME OF IT!” Lucius only had a moment to step back before the Dark Lord had a hand wrapped around his throat and was dragging him toward the center of the room. 

The monster’s red eyes were locked onto Lucius’ and the blonde immediately pushed forth the delicately put together memories of Draco screaming at him about his affiliation with the Dark and vowing never to speak to him again. It wasn’t perfect by far but the Dark Lord’s fatal flaw was that he thought himself too powerful to be bested. 

“You didn’t know?” The Dark Lord smiled and the look was more terrifying than if he had scowled. Bad things always happened when the Dark Lord smiled. “That your dear Draco has become a fae like his father?”

“No, my lord.” Lucius gasped, gripping the hands around his neck, yet knowing that it was pointless to try to pull them away. “Hogwarts has ruined him, drawn him away from the darkness. He and I have not been on speaking terms since the first week of his break.”

The hands around his neck loosened just a touch before the Dark Lord sighed and let Lucius fall to the ground with a gasp.

“You didn’t think it important to inform me that one of my future followers had turned against the dark? Crucio.” Lucius knew it was coming but the curse still had him writhing on the ground in pain. It felt as though every nerve in body was on fire and made keeping even ounce of concentration on maintaining his shields, almost impossible. It was only years of practice that kept his mind from crumbling under the Dark Lord’s gaze. 

“Darkness is in that boy’s blood, Lucius.” The Dark Lord taunted as he released the curse and twirled his wand sinisterly through his skeletal fingers. “You mean to tell me that all of those years of lessons and the predisposition to darkness since birth, has been washed away by a few years of schooling? That you didn’t see the signs that your own flesh and blood was turning to the light? Becoming your enemy?”

Another Crucio sent Lucius falling back onto the floor again as he bit back the screams that wanted to tear themselves from his throat. If he screamed, the Dark Lord would only enjoy it more and let the torture continue on for hours.

“Draco is far from light, my Lord. He finds them as repugnant as I do but he also has no draw to the darkness.”

“Neutral? Hmmm.” The snake faced man crouched down beside Lucius and it took every ounce of willpower he had to keep from flinching away from the monster. “Then he can be swayed.” The lord’s wand trailed down the side of Lucius’ face and he could not control the shiver of fear that traveled down his spine. 

“Get up.” A flick of the Dark Lord’s wand sent a wordless cutting curse across Lucius’ face, causing him to hiss out in pain before shakily climbing to his feet. “You’re lucky that I favor you, Lucius.”

The Dark Lord turned and walked back up to his throne before taking a seat as though he hadn’t just tortured Lucius for nearly twenty minutes. “Thank you, my lord.”

“As is always the case, Hogwarts has a position open for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.” The Dark Lord began. “To make up for your ignorance and for the loss of a future follower, you will take the position.”

He made it seem like it was a matter of just walking up the castle and requesting a job.

“My lord, it’s not quite that simple-”

“Severus will give you a recommendation.” The snake faced man hissed. “I’ve also had an associate place a curse on the Hogwarts owlery. I doubt the old fool will care for the resumes that are allowed in.”

Lucius was extremely interested in how this...man… was able to cast anything on Hogwarts, let alone a curse, but he bit back his curiosity and kept silent as his former Lord spoke. 

“Two pairs of eyes in that castle are going to be needed in the coming months and you, Lucius-” Those red eyes bore into his and Lucius felt every muscle in his body tense up in preparation for whatever pain he was about to experience. 

“-will be tasked with discovering the identity of your son’s mate-” Lucius carefully arranged his expression to show just enough surprise to be believable. After all, he wasn’t supposed to know that Draco had even transitioned, let alone found a mate already.

“-and to bring them both before me. There will be no neutral party in this war and dear Draco will make a choice. For his sake, I hope you can convince him of the right one.”

Lucius nodded stiffly and turned his gaze to the floor in front of himself. He had worked so hard to get make Draco safe, he had sent him out of the country before his coming of age and had even told his mother that they weren’t on the best of terms. In the end all of that work was for nothing and it made Lucius sick to think that this son was in danger all over again.

“Yes, my lord.” He replied numbly and only halfheartedly listened to the ministry official crying and pleading at the Dark Lord’s feet. He had been tasked with discovering the full extent of the ministry’s defense systems and after two weeks, he had yet to come up with anything more than that was common knowledge.

Poor Bastard.

Crucio after crucio was thrown at the blubbering man as he cried and whimpered and begged. The Dark Lord loved those pleads and those tears, it was obvious from the way he laughed and his eyes lit up with pure enjoyment as each curse left his wand. Lucius silently chanted for the man to shut up, if he did this would end, didn’t he understand that?

When the Dark Lord finally let out a maniacal laugh and allowed those still standing around the circle to leave, Lucius couldn’t walk out of that room fast enough. His hands were shaking when they reached into the floo powder pot and when he went to throw it into the flames of the fireplace in the entry room, long, pale fingers wrapped around his wrist before quickly releasing him. 

Lucius didn’t look over at Severus, he only nodded his head in understanding and threw the lime green powder into the flames before stepping in and whispering “Hogwarts” under his breath. When the world finally stopped spinning, he stepped out of the fireplace and into an office to find it’s owner sitting calmly behind his desk with a twinkle in his blue eyes. 

“Hello, Mr. Malfoy.”

“Dumbledore.”

He had only just stepped out of the way, when Severus came storming out of the fireplace behind him and marched past to throw himself elegantly into one of the two chairs in front of Dumbledore’s desk.

“Lucius needs a job.” Severus said bluntly, leaving all tact behind him as he accepted the cup of tea the headmaster levitated over to him. 

“Now, Severus, you know better than to jump to the end. Start at the beginning. Lucius, why don’t you take a seat and have a cup of tea? After we’re done here you can have Poppy take a look at you.”

Lucius nodded slowly as he did as the headmaster asked and took the tea floating in front of him. It felt good in his hands, warming him and eradicating the cold that seemed to surround him after being in the Dark Lord’s presence. 

“That won’t be necessary, Headmaster. All I need is a little rest.” Now that his fear was dissipating, the exhaustion that had been plaguing him was returning and he just hoped he’d be able to get through tonight without falling asleep in his chair like a first year. 

“At least let me get you a nerve regeneration potion before you leave.” Severus argued and it clear from his tone that it wasn’t a question but an order and Lucius nodded his consent while sipping the steaming tea and waiting for Severus to relay the information from the meeting.

“Isaac Nelson, the unspeakable that the Dark Lord has within the ministry was unable to uncover any additional information concerning the defensive wards around the ministry building or the department of secrets. He still hasn’t made it known what exactly he’s after there but he seems very anxious to get it.”

“He’ll reveal it soon enough.” Dumbledore replied and waved his hand for the Potion’s Master to continue his report. 

“The Dark Lord is also aware that Draco Malfoy has come into his inheritance although the fact he’s mated to Potter has eluded his attention. A spy within the order would have told him that, so as of now, I’m unsure of where he got that information. He wants Lucius to bring Draco and his mate to him as soon as possible and to accomplish this he ordered him to take on the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.”

“Odd,” Dumbledore said after a few moments of comfortable silence, his hands coming up to fold themselves under his chin as he turned his attention to Lucius. “Has Draco been in contact with anyone since his inheritance?”

“Blaise Zabini and even he only knows the story we’ve concocted, that Draco has decided to remain neutral for the time being. Draco understands the need for secretcy, he wouldn’t risk his own safety by wagging his tongue where he knows he shouldn’t.”

“But if Mr. Zabini was the only one that’s had contact with Draco-” Severus began but Lucius quickly cut him off. 

“He doesn’t know about the inheritance, Draco assured me he would keep it to himself.”

“And Draco always does what he says he will?”

“Are you insinuating that my son-” Lucius said just as Dumbledore’s hands slammed down onto the desk with a loud bang. 

“Now, now, boys. Speculation is merely….speculative. Lucius, remind Draco how important it is that he maintain his cover and that Voldemort-” The name earned a shiver from the two spies in front of him, which he smoothly ignored. “-has aquired delicate information. Only he knows who he’s spoken to whether or not they can be trusted.”

“You’re right, headmaster.” Lucius agreed softly, “I’ll send him an owl as soon as possible.”

“Good. Now as for your employment here, I see no problem with it. Having a second set of eyes among the students would be advantageous to say the least. I’ve also encountered a strange curse on the owerly, it seems that any resumes that come in from possible candidates that the board would approve of, burn to ash the moment the owl lands in the tower.” Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling with humor as he eyed the two men over the top of his half-moon glasses.

“How did he manage to place it?” Severus asked, obviously just as curious as Lucius was on the subject. 

“He sent an owl with the curse sealed on a scrap of parchment. As headmaster, I could have released it’s influence over the school and I doubt Voldemort would be surprised that it didn’t stick. However, I’ve found that letting him think he’s gaining ground would be more useful. So I left it, knowing his full plan would make itself known in time.” 

Lucius nodded his head in understanding and finished off the last of tea as the three men lapsed into silence, filling the room with the soft crackling of flames from the fireplace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why, but I really don't like this chapter. I wrote it about a month ago and thought it sounded fine, but when I went through to proof read it, my opinion on it changed rather drastically. Maybe I'm just tired though...clinicals and a new job can do that to a person.


	5. Sentimental Slytherins

“Don’t start again.” Lucius hissed as he walked through the door to Severus’ chambers and the man locked it behind them. 

 

“I’m not going to say anything about it.” Severus sighed, pushing roughly past Lucius and heading toward the hallway that led to his private potions lab. “You’re not a child that needs constant nagging. All I want is to get you a potion.”

 

“I’m fine.” Three Crucios were nothing, Lucius had suffered through dozens at a time on more than one occasion. 

 

“If I believed it every time you said it, then you’d be using more than that cane.” Severus told him coldly and paused in front of the potions lab, silently waiting for Lucius to follow him. “You’re old Lucius and your magic is preoccupied with keeping your mating bond closed, you’re not going to heal as easily as you used to.”

 

“You’re only a year younger than myself.” Lucius snarled but followed his friend into his lab, knowing that while Severus was a pushy bastard, he was also right. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn’t risk any more damage to his body, his leg already slowed him down enough as it was, if he lost control of anything else, he might as well Avada Kedavra himself on the spot.

 

“Yes and I take my potions like a good wizard so I have the nerves of a thirty-seven year old, unlike you.”

 

“So you meant my nerves were old.”

 

“Sure.”

 

First his son, his own flesh and blood, and now Severus, his best friend since his second year of Hogwarts.  Bastards, the both of them, for calling him old.

 

“Just give me the potion and shut up.” Lucius sighed and held his hand out for the vial that Severus had delicately plucked off of a high up shelf. With a smirk, his friend placed the potion in Lucius' outstretched hand, using a tad more force than was strictly necessary.

 

He downed the foul tasting liquid and breathed out a relieved sigh when the soft tingling all over his body, suddenly stopped.  Maybe he did need the damn stuff afterall.

 

“I’d ask if you wanted to stay and have a drink, but you look like you’re about to fall over. I’m half tempted to make you sleep on my couch.” Severus said with a mischevious smirk and Lucius tensed up, knowing exactly what his old friend was about to say. 

 

“Don’t do it.” Lucius snarled, which only made Severus grin before he leaned forward until their faces were only a few inches apart. 

“Ah, yes, now I remember, the last time you did that…” Lucius hand tightened around the head of his cane, “...you threw your back out.”

 

Lucius had his wand out of his cane and pressed into the flesh of Severus’ jaw in the time it took for the brunet to blink. “Want to start, Hook Nose?”

 

“Oh no, it’s past eight o’clock, you really should be heading to bed. Make sure to take your teeth out first.”

 

“Listen here, Grease Ball. I’ve had a long day, don’t you dare push me.”

 

“Of course not. It’s not becoming to insult your elders, Luce. I’ll watch my tongue.”

 

“I will incarcerous your arse so fast.”

 

“Kinky. Don’t think your mate or your wife would appreciate that though.”

 

Lucius leveled a glare at the younger man, matching Severus’ stare for several moments until the brunet’s composure failed and he broke out into uncontrollable chuckles that shook his entire frame. 

 

“Go home and rest, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He pushed Lucius away and the blonde slowly lowered his wand with a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. The insults might have changed over the years but the meaning was the same, ‘I love you but there’s no way in hell I’m ever going to say it to your face.’

 

“Talk to you then, do try to wash your hair tonight, won’t you?”

 

“Don’t break a hip on the way out.” 

 

That earned Severus a rather nasty stinging hex if Lucius did say so himself and the potions master’s laugh filled his ears as he disappeared in a flash of green flames.

 

\--

Harry’s eyes locked onto Draco as the blonde slowly stood up from the bed, twisting side to side to release the tension in his back. The fae’s blonde hair was mused from sleep and the strands were sticking out in all directions. He was absolutely gorgeous in the morning, when he was natural and perfect...and dressed in nothing but a short pair of sleep pants that rode low enough on his hips to make Harry salivate. 

 

“You know, it’s creepy when you stare at me like that.” Draco laughed as looked at Harry over his shoulder before slowly pulling off his sleep pants and changing into his robes for the day. “Especially when you try to act like you’re still sleeping, like oogling your mate is wrong.”

 

Harry didn’t say anything in response to Draco’s words but he did push the comforter off of himself and sit up in bed to get a better view of his mate. 

 

“Definitely not wrong.” Harry finally whispered as the last of Draco’s pale skin was covered up. “I just like watching you without your mask on.”

 

“I don’t wear a mask around you.” Draco denied, leveling Harry with a mild glare that only made the veela smile. They had been connected at the hip (figuratively!) for a week now and it hadn’t taken Harry long to figure out the meanings of each of Draco’s glares. Some of those glares still scared the shit out of him but this wasn’t one of them. 

 

“Yes you do.” Harry replied softly, “and that's fine, but sometimes I like to see you when it falls.”

 

Draco stared down at Harry as though he was the most incredible thing he had ever seen and the biggest mystery he’d never solve. 

 

“Get up, we have to get ready.” The blonde reached over and gently grabbed Harry’s arm before pulling him out of the bed.

 

“Have something planned? Reading? Training with Snape? Do either of those really necessitate waking up at the crack of dawn? Woah, woah, there...”

 

Draco’s fingers were pulling insistently at the collar of Harry’s Chudley Cannons t-shirt and before the other teen could stop him, he had the bright orange peice of fabric off of Harry’s chest and lying on the floor. Next, the blonde gripped the hem of Harry’s flannel pajama bottoms and the veela let out a startled yelp when they were pulled down to pool around his ankles.

 

“If you get to look, so do I.”

 

“Draco!”

 

“Now comes the hard part.” The blonde sighed, his eyes racking up and town Harry’s body like a hungry predator surveying a fresh kill. Just when the gaze was beginning to become uncomfortable, Draco looked away with a huff and shoved a bundle of Harry’s clothes into his arms.  “Get dressed, dear. Severus will be here in an hour and I for one would like to eat before then.”

 

Draco took a step back and turned on his heel to leave, only to twist right back around and snag Harry by the neck and pull him into a quick kiss. It only lasted a few moments before the blonde pulled back to rest their foreheads together and locked their gazes. “My mate.” He whispered and turned away from Harry to head toward the door.

 

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Harry reached out and grabbed the back of Draco’s light blue robes, spinning the man around and dropping his clothes in the process. Disregarding the clothes piled at his feet, Harry rearranged his grip on his mate and pushed himself against him. “Don’t undress me, kiss me, and then leave me all alone. It’s rude, Draco.”

 

Draco smirked cockily and reached out to grip Harry’s hips to press him closer. “I was trying to be respectable.” He pointedly ignored the scoff from Harry at his words. “You’ve only known I was your mate for a week and last I checked, Gryffindors were painfully sentimental when it came to this sort of thing.”

 

“We are.” Harry replied and pressed his lips against Draco’s before gently maneuvering him toward his bed. The blonde fell back onto the mattress with a soft sigh and Harry used the opportunity to thrust his tongue into his mate’s mouth as he ground his hips into Draco’s.

 

Draco mumbled something into Harry’s mouth, the sound completely incomprehensible and easy enough for the veela to ignore as he ran his hands through Draco’s hair and over his clothed sides. The blonde tried once more to communicate with Harry verbally, before he pressed his hands to the veela’s chest and gave him a firm shove, disconnecting their lips. 

 

“Are you okay?” Harry asked breathlessly, his eyes wide with worry as he stared down at his mate. He hadn’t hurt him, had he? Or forced him into something he didn’t want? He and Harry had only shared a few light kisses here and there since Draco had placed the seal on the bond and while Harry assumed that Malfoy wanted to continue, maybe he had read him wrong. 

 

“I’m fine, Potter.” Draco replied with a smirk. “More than fine, actually. Been waiting for you to do that for awhile now.”

 

“But?” Because there was definitely a but coming, Harry could almost taste it.

 

“But keep your hands above the waist. If your feelings are anything like mine, then you care for me, quite a bit if this is any indication, but even with the bond it's too soon for any other feelings to develop and we don’t want the bond’s influence to disappear quite yet.”

 

“Is the Slytherin in the room telling me to keep my hands to myself until we’re in love?” Harry chuckled in disbelief, “that’s adorable.”

 

“It’s sensible. You read the same books I did, potter. Once this bond magic fades, our feelings toward each other fade with it. I like you willing and eager, I don’t want to lose that just because you’re horny.” 

 

Harry sat back so that he was straddling Draco’s hips and starring down at the blonde with a soft smile. 

 

“You like me and you want to keep liking me.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“You like me.” Harry sang, leaning down to press his forehead against Draco’s and to stare into those wide, grey eyes. “You don’t want to hate me. You’re not the cold hearted bastard you like everyone to think you are.”

 

“Good to know you figured this out after accosting me half naked and trying to suck my lungs out through my throat. What does that say about you, Potter?” Draco sent Harry a cocky smirk as his cold hands slowly trailed across Harry’s ribs, moving up across his shoulders and to the sides of his mate’s face. 

 

The hands felt like ice against his jaw, but Harry didn’t dare move and risk Draco moving his fingers away. 

 

“I don’t want to lose you.”

 

“I don’t want to lose you, either.” Harry replied softly and leaned forward to kiss Draco lightly before pulling away. “You are far too tempting.” One last kiss to the blonde’s forehead and Harry somehow managed to pull himself away from his gorgeous mate and stumble off of the bed. 

 

“I didn’t say stop!” Draco cried out but Harry was already gathering up his clothes and heading toward the small bathroom that was connected to their bedroom. “Kissing is fine, Harry!”

 

“Go get breakfast,” Harry laughed as he stepped out of the room. Yes, kissing would be fine, but Harry honestly didn’t know if he’d be able to stop himself if he felt Draco’s body beneath his right now. 

 

“Hate you.” Came the snarling voice of Draco from the other side of the door, following by a soft thunk that Harry assumed was Draco placing his palms against the wood. “Hate you so damn much.”

 

The words just made Harry smile as he started the shower, testing the water with the back of his hand to ensure that it was as cold as he could handle.

  
“I’ll see you in the kitchen, Malfoy.” Harry said through the door before stepping under the freezing spray and closing the sliding door behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we'll pretend this came out exactly one week from the last chapter, right? I've had an interesting 26 days, including presentations at work, clinicals, 2 BS exams that in no way measured my brilliance, over 1,000 pages of assigned readings for class, and a death in the family...
> 
> That said, I will be trying to keep this story updated as much as I can, preferably every week.


	6. Practicing with Poisons

After a very uncomfortable breakfast, in which Malfoy was trying his damnest to make Harry suffer, by licking his fingers, sucking on forks and spoons, and daring to use a straw to drink his orange juice even though he was a grown-ass adult; Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny woefully made their way down to the basement where a certain bat was waiting for them. 

 

Snape’s arms were crossed over his chest and he was leaning against the back wall of the basement with a long table set up in front of him, filled with multi-colored vials and bundles of different herbs. The sight made ice cold dread fill Harry’s veins. He had thought today would be another dueling lesson like the ones the other adults had been giving them, those he could handle, but potions? 

  
Might as well verbally flay himself where he stood and save Snape the trouble.

 

“Good for you all to finally join me.” Snape drawled as he straightened himself up and placed his hands on the table in front of him. “Today we will be going over poisons.”

 

And fuck if Snape didn’t look absolutely thrilled about that. 

 

“You’re going to poison us?” Ron asked in obvious outrage, taking a step toward the older man, only to be pulled back to Hermione’s side with a firm pull from the witch. 

 

“As usual, you’ve demonstrated the full capacity of your intellect.” Snape sneered at the red head, his hands clenching around the table edge. “I am not going to poison you, at least not here.” Those dark eyes scanned each of the young witches and wizards in front of him before locking back onto Ron as though he wanted nothing more than to pour each of the vials in front of him, down the redhead's throat.

 

It was actually kind of refreshing to see that looked pointed at someone other than himself.

 

“You will be learning how to distinguish between poisons, how to counter them, and how to avoid them. It’s not something taught at Hogwarts, for reasons I can’t begin to fathom, and is something that you all desperately need to know.” Snape’s eyes left Ron to focus on the group as a whole before motioning them all closer. Hermione and Draco took a few steps forward without pause, but Harry, Ron and Ginny hesitated, glancing between themselves and the other two teenagers before slowly doing as they were told. 

“Each of you smell this vial, tell me what attracts your attention.” Ginny was handed a vial filled with emerald green liquid and she hesitantly took a whiff, only to pull back in disgust. 

 

“That’s horrible.” She whispered, a hand coming up to cover her nose as she handed the vial off to her brother. “It’s like a mix between rotten eggs and the mold that started growing in dad’s shed after the roof sprang a leak.”

 

“Couldn’t say it better myself.” Ron gagged and coughed which only made Snape roll his eyes and stare up at the ceiling as though it had personally insulted him. 

 

“It is horrible.” Hermione said as she passed the vial to Harry, who stared at it in fear. “But I can smell dragon scales and lacewing flies.”

 

“Good, Ms.Granger. Potter, what do you smell? After your inheritance, your olfactory nerve should have enlarged.”

 

When Harry just stared at the older man in confusion, Malfoy leaned over, “you should have an enhanced sense of smell.”

 

“Why didn’t he just say that?”

 

“For the love of- just smell the damn vial, Potter.” Snape snarled and Harry visibly recoiled to get as far away as possible from the professor. He liked having a head attached to his shoulders, thank you very much.

 

With a deep breath and a silent prayer, Harry lifted the vial to his nose and a took a short, quick wiff.  “Don’t know what you guys are talking about.” Harry laughed and moved the vial forward again to get a second sniff of the contents.

 

“I mean, it definitely doesn’t smell good, but it doesn’t smell bad either. I’m just getting a really strong chemical smell, like muggle floor cleaner, nothing specific about it though.”

 

Harry shrugs as he hands the vial to Draco and spares a glance over at Snape, who is staring at him with...MERLIN THAT’S A FUCKING SMILE...on his face. It was enough to make Harry’s eyes widen and for his heart to begin beating frantically in his chest. If Snape was smiling, then one of two things could be happening: 

 

  1. The apocolapse was moments away from starting and someone had forgotten the locusts. 
  2. Severus Snape was planning the painful and humiliating death of Harry Potter.



 

Neither of these options were okay.

 

He was half tempted to stop Draco from taking the vial but the blonde was already running it under his nose and using his left hand to wave the smell closer to his face. 

 

“Dragon scales, lacewing flies, eye of newt, toad oil base, and hippogriff feathers are the main ingredients with touches of salamander dung, snake fangs, Takil grass. It’s a common antidote for poisons of unknown origins. It has no ill effects if the poison is incompatible with it or if the patient is only showing the signs of a poisoning without it actually taking place.” Draco smirked at the stunned looks on the faces of the other teenagers and casually handed the vial back to Snape.

 

“And that was without a veela’s enhanced sense of smell.” Snape sighed while nodding approvingly at Draco. “Yes, this is an antidote. Next, I’ll hand you a mild and a potent poison. You’ll notice, hopefully,” Snape paused to glare at Ron and Harry as though they were the bane of his existence, “that poisons smell and taste far more apetizing than antidotes do. Afterall, a poison would be completely ineffective if it couldn’t be hidden. None of you would have consumed the last potion I handed you if given the choice, but that was the one that would have saved your life.”

 

For almost two hours, Harry and the other students that were staying in the house over the summer, listened to Snape lecture like he was back in Hogwarts and smelt and even tasted several different potions. None of them had died but Harry was under the opinion that the reason for this was because Snape’s plan had somehow failed despite the years he had spent perfecting it. Veelas must have been impervious to poisions and that was one thing that Snape didn’t seem to know.

 

Sounded reasonable to Harry.

 

Relief nearly made Harry’s legs go out from under him when he heard Snape dismiss them for the day and that relief quickly turned to disappointment when he asked that Harry and Draco both remain behind. 

 

“Your father has sent you a letter.” Snape said once the other students had left the room. “He didn’t want to risk sending it by owl. Read it and hand it back to me so I can dispose of it properly.” A plain, white envelope sealed with the Malfoy crest passed between the Potions master and the blonde fae and Harry watched curiously as his mate opened the missive and began reading. 

 

“You don’t trust that he could throw it in the fire after reading it? Are you really that paranoid, Snape?” Harry asked and took one giant step back when both Draco and Snape glared at him, causing a shiver of ice cold fear to travel down his spine. 

 

“Is father alright?” Draco asked Snape, completely ignoring Harry’s previous question as though it didn’t warrant an answer. “If the Dark Lord found out about me, he couldn’t have been pleased.”

  
“He’ll survive, it was nothing he couldn’t handle, I promise.” Snape held out his hand for the letter and Draco slowly handed it over, his fingers clutching at it for only a moment before pulling away. “Do you know of anyone that you conversed with since your birthday that knew of your inherentence or had contact with the Dark Lord?”

 

“No. I have no idea who could have betrayed us. I swear that I haven’t told anyone of my nature or of Harry. I would never put father and my mate at risk like that.”

 

“What happened?” Harry asked, rejoining the conversation now that it seemed neither of the two men wanted to murder him. 

 

“The Dark Lord discovered that Draco was a fae though we’re not sure who passed this information along. Suffice to say that he took great pleasure in reminding Lucius of who his loyalities belong to.” Snape placed two drops of lavender potion onto the letter and Harry watched in amazement as the paper seemed to shrivel up on itself before disappearing all together. 

 

“He’s also been given the task of discovering my mate and bringing us both to the Dark Lord, which means we’ll need to be very careful at school. If just one student catches whiff of the relationship between us then…” Draco trailed off sadly and Harry immediately wrapped an arm around his mate’s waist and pullled him into his side. 

 

“He’s going to be fine.” Harry said reassuringly, “if I had to put money on the one person that would survive this war and come out of it smelling like roses, it’d be Lucius Malfoy.”

 

“That’d be easy money, Potter.” Snape agreed and reached over to squeeze Draco’s shoulder gently. “You both may go, I’m going to talk to Potter’s dogfather and schedule our next lesson.”

 

Oh the joy.

 

“Do I have time to write him a reply before you go?” 

 

“Of course, though I would ask that you hurry it along. The longer I converse with the people in this house, the lower my IQ seems to drop.”

 

“Hey!” Harry exclaimed but Draco dragged him from the room by the collar of his shirt.

  
“Though I do love it when you drag me around.” He whispered with a smirk when the two of them were alone in the hallway.  Draco merely a raised an amused eyebrow at his mate’s words before he turned on his heel with a flair and ascended the stairs without saying a word. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a little shorter than normal, but unless I wanted to make it crazy long, this was the only stopping point I could find. I will be posting another chapter this weekend though, so hopefully that makes up for it.


	7. Worth It

The Dark Lord only called Lucius one more time before the start of the new year at Hogwarts. That meeting had gone very well, all things considered, and Lucius had somehow managed to avoid the cruciatus curse entirely since another death eater had won the Dark Lord’s displeasure and became his newest victim. 

The rest of the summer was spent with Lucius absent mindedly filling out paperwork and making his weekly trips to Diagon Alley to be seen by the public and to drop off his work at both Gringotts and the ministry. Draco sent him letters every few days, telling him about the fights he was having with the youngest Weasley son, Richard, the food that Molly Weasley was preparing that evidently put the Malfoy house elves to shame, and of course, he talked about Harry. 

 

A lot. 

 

He talked about what his hair looked like in the morning, how he smelled, how he smiled, his favorite hobbies, his favorite games, his least favorite school subjects, and how much Draco was starting to like him.  The words made Lucius smile sadly down at the parchment and for ice cold longing to fill his heart. Eventually, he asked Severus to tell Draco that it was no longer safe for the potions master to relay messages between them and that until school started, they shouldn’t converse more than necessary. 

 

It had felt as though he was cutting off both of his arms when Severus told him that Draco had begrudgingly agreed with Lucius’ request. Not only was he losing contact with Draco, his dragon, but he was also losing any information he had about his mate’s life. It was torture but it had to be done. 

 

Keeping the bond closed and under control had grown more difficult as time went on,  just as Lucius had predicted, and he didn’t imagine that the strain would lessen until Harry and Draco bonded fully. After all, Lucius’ magic wasn’t just inhibiting his bond, but Harry’s as well, making sure that the veela’s side of the bond didn’t reach out to his and alert the teenager that something was amiss. Once Draco and Harry solidified their bond, then Harry’s veela instincts would calm and he would stop reaching out, which would make Lucius’ life a hell of a lot easier. 

 

If he thought the bond was hard to control from across the country, then Lucius was absolutely floored when Harry and Draco walked into the Great Hall on September first. They came in separately, of course, having taken extra steps to arrive at Kings Cross with their respective friends and to make it seem as though nothing had changed between them over the summer. 

 

Harry came in first, accompanied by Weasley and Granger, with a wide smile on his face.He and his friends took their seats at the Gryffindor table, all the while laughing and talking animatedly as though they hadn’t seen each other in ages. It was only a few minutes later that Draco strolled in with Blaise by his side. 

 

The two Slytherins didn’t speak to each other or smile at other classmates, they kept their eyes straight ahead and only voiced a word once they were seated, politely talking to the other seventh years around them. 

 

If Lucius hadn’t been watching for it, he would have missed the momentary eye contact between the two mates that spanned the entire Great Hall. Their eyes met from their respective tables and a silent acknowledgement seemed to pass between them before they looked away, never again paying the other any mind. It was rather fascinating to watch really. 

 

“If you’re trying to look like a love-struck teenager, then by all means, keep staring at Potter like he forgot to call you last week.” Severus said calmly and Lucius unhappily pulled his eyes away from his mate to turn to his best friend. 

 

The Potion’s master was staring at him in honest concern, a look of pity in his dark eyes that disappeared when Lucius raised an eyebrow in question. “Thank you, Severus.” He replied simply and turned his gaze back to the students, careful to scan around the room instead of focusing all of his attention on one particular student. 

 

“You’re not going to be able to block out both sides of that bond for very much longer.” Severus whispered as Dumbledore stood up at the podium and began reciting the usual Hogwarts rules and motioned for McGonagall to come in with the first years to be sorted.

 

“No, but I don’t believe I’ll have to. Harry and Draco seem to have developed the bond further than I thought over the break. I’d give them a couple of weeks before they solidify it.” Lucius replied without taking his eyes off of the sorting taking place. This wasn’t the best time to be talking about something like this but at least the need to keep a hushed tone would keep his best friend from yelling at him.

 

“Because it’s so easy to do that in Hogwarts.” Severus scoffed softly, 

 

“The headmaster and I did a little charm work last night that will help them with that.” Lucius told him and smirked in triumph when Severus’ eyes widened and he turned his head completely to stare at the blonde. 

 

“You didn’t mention that, what did the two of you do?”

 

“Used an altered expansion charm with a time-space charm on their beds. If they get into bed and pull the curtain then nothing happens, but if they are both in their respective beds at the same time time with the curtains drawn, then the beds merge to form one large bed. I told the headmaster this was to ensure they had enough time together after forced to be apart during the day, but a bonus to that is the privacy to complete the bond and lessen my load.”

 

It was actually rather ingenious if Lucius could say so himself. He had even topped the project off with silencing spells and contraceptive charms because he was a kind hearted soul like that. 

 

Though every spell made his chest tighten and once it was complete and he knew that this was where his mate was going to be claimed by someone else, it had felt as though someone had shoved a dagger through his heart. But this was for the best. He had told himself that a million times since the end of July and one of these days he knew that the fae inside of him would agree with it. 

 

“And you’re alright?” Severus asked in an uncharacteristic show of concern and affection. The fellow spy knew more than anyone how much Lucius had been suffering over the last month and this would be the topper on the mound of pain he had been dealing with. 

 

“Fine.” Lucius replied and locked his gaze onto his plate when Severus’ gaze darkened at the lie that had slipped past the blonde’s lips.

 

“-and our new defense the dark arts instructor, Lucius Malfoy.”

 

At the sound of his name and the soft applause that followed, Lucius looked up at the students and sent the room a small smirk as he tried to avoid Severus’ glare and the feeling of uneasiness that had settled in his gut. 

 

“Is all of this really worth it, Lucius? The exhaustion and the pain it’s causing?” Severus whispered as he filled his plate once the headmaster had finished his welcoming speech. “Don’t answer it. I know you’ll tell me to keep my big nose out of it, especially since this isn’t the first time I’ve said this. Just think about it, please.”

 

Lucius nodded softly, his head making the barest of movements before he reached out to prepare his meal. He hadn’t been eating much since his separation from Harry and Draco, if he could choke down a biscuit and a few sips of tea at each meal then he considered it a good day, but more often than not his stomach revolted violently and refused anything he tried to consume. 

 

He raised his fork, which had pierced a piece of chicken and raised it to his mouth, only to see Severus watching him intently as though his eating habits would somehow decide the future of the wizarding world. With a satisfied smile, Lucius engulfed the chicken and forced himself to chew and swallow it. He would not let Severus see how much this stupid bond was affecting him.

 

“Are you alright, dear?” Madam Pomfrey asked from Lucius’ left when he pushed the rest of his food around his plate, the one bite being enough to send waves of nausea throughout his body. 

 

“Fine, just nervous is all.” He assured the mediwitch and didn’t dare turn his gaze to Severus, knowing that the stupid vampire would be glaring knowingly at him.

 

“No need, you’ll be great.” Madam Pomfrey placed a soothing hand on top of Lucius’ and sent him a warm smile that instantly tore a matching smile from Lucius. 

 

“Thank you.” He didn’t have the heart to tell her that it wasn’t the classes he was nervous for.

 

\--

 

That first night in the castle, Lucius volunteered for the first night watch. His classes weren’t until late in the day and while he’d be exhausted from strolling around the castle until Filch relieved him at two in the morning, he’d be able to sleep in and go to classes refreshed. 

 

It was calming to walk through the darkened halls, something he hadn’t done since he was a student, and now there was no fear of being discovered or threat of detention behind every corner. As a professor, he could take the time to think and enjoy the moments alone. Severus wasn’t looking at him knowingly, portraits of Draco weren’t hanging on the walls, and letters from his son weren’t sitting right in front of him, begging to be read. No, here in the halls, he was truly alone with his thoughts.

 

Unsurprisingly, those thoughts turned to Harry almost immediately, the way he glanced at Draco in the Great Hall, like he had just laid eyes on his long time spouse and no words were needed between them. He had wanted that with someone, he’d dreamed about it since he was seventeen and mourned the loss of the possibility since the day he married Narcissa. Now Draco and Harry had it after only a month together. 

 

They were lucky and despite the burning pain in the center of his chest, Lucius was happy that his mate could have that with someone and proud that his son had matured enough to find it as well. 

 

The two of them were good together and had come so far in just a month that it made Lucius even more confident in his choice to stand aside for Draco to step in as Harry’s only mate. He knew that he would have only complicated things and made this harder on both of them, which would have been shame, given how easy everything had been for the pair so far. It was clear that they were truly made for each other.

 

He was happy for them. He was happy for them. He was happy for them. 

 

Then why did it hurt so badly?

 

It was because the fae side of him was irrational and instinctual. It couldn’t possibly understand what was best for his mate and what was best for his son, it only thought about himself and that was why Lucius had to shut it out and override everything it wanted. After all, Lucius’ life wasn’t about getting what he wanted, his father had made that perfectly clear when he was twenty years old and all but imperiused into marrying a witch that wasn’t his mate. His life was about doing what needed to be done and staying alive long enough to die when it was most convenient. 

 

That’s what he would do, magical inheritance be damned.

 

Lucius had just rounded a corner and was faced with another deserted hallway, when a searing pain exploded from his chest, followed closely by a sense of happiness and comfort. The sensations had him falling to his knees and clutching at his chest as he bent himself nearly in half on the floor, ignoring the questions from the portraits around him. 

 

This was one of those times that Lucius knew exactly what had happened, even though he had never experienced it, never read about, and had never seen it happen. To confirm his suspicions and because he was obviously a glutton for punishment, Lucius allowed the wall around his bond as well as around Harry’s, to crumble ever so slightly, just to see if Harry’s magic was pulling at him like it usually was.

 

It wasn’t. 

 

_Harry and Draco certainly hadn’t waited very long before they finished the bond_ , Lucius thought sadly and situated himself so that he was sitting flat on the floor, his back against the wall and his feet out in front of him. He should have been happy when he let the block around Harry’s side of the bond fade away, but it only served to make him feel more lonely that he ever had in his life. 

 

The bond between Harry and Lucius, or rather Harry’s bond to Lucius, wasn’t completely gone, perhaps that would have been less painful. Instead, the tendrils of bond magic ghosted over to Lucius’ bond and just sat there, as though Harry’s bond was saying:

 

_ Yes, I know you’re there, but I don’t need you now. _

 

It wasn’t pulling at Lucius, it wasn’t drawing Harry to him, it was just sitting there in that void that Lucius couldn’t even properly name or explain, tickling his mind and magic, reminding him that he had a mate out there that he would never have. With a pained grunt, Lucius rebuilt the walls around his own bond and sighed when the sense of rejection he had felt, suddenly disappeared. 

 

Though he was still filled with this...happiness that he knew wasn’t his after everything that happened and was a reminder to him that while he was here on the floor suffering, his mate was okay. His mate was happy and safe and loved and no matter how much it hurt to know that the one making him feel that way was someone else, Lucius would be forever grateful to them for it.

 

Lucius refused to let his calm mask slip as he stood up from the floor and headed down the hall, intent on finding Severus and begging the other man to take over the night. He just wanted to go to bed, to sleep and to hopefully forget all of this for a little while. 

 

_ This is worth it.   _

 

Lucius decided as another wave of pain hit him. 

 

_ All of this pain, all of this heartache is worth Draco and Harry’s happiness. If this is the cost of giving my wife that potion, having a son I was never meant to have, and ensuring that my mate would be cared for for the rest of his life, then I’ll endure this pain a thousand times over.  _

 

Not that he’d ever actually give Severus the answer to his stupid question, mind you . 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to thank everyone for the support you've all given me so far! Every time I see more kudos or comments, my heart goes all aflutter...
> 
> Just a question for all of you awesome readers. I just wrote the scene where it's revealed that Lucius is Harry's mate. How would Harry react in your opinion? For me, I'm torn between him understanding Lucius' motivations and accepting him right away or being absolutely furious because you know...lying and messing with other peoples' mate bonds is not okay. So instead of me pulling my hair out over it, what do you all think?


	8. Taste Test

Harry mumbled a quick goodnight to his friends before throwing himself onto his bed and absent mindedly closing the curtains, turning over onto his side and letting out a shocked shout. 

 

Draco was lying on his side facing Harry, his head resting on his fist and his other hand lying delicately on his hip.

 

“What are you doing here?” The question had only just left his lips when Harry noticed that Draco wasn’t lying on the same red sheets that he was, instead, his half of the bed was covered in a dark green sheet.  In fact, the bed was twice the normal size, which was definitely not the case two seconds ago when he had walked into the room next to Ron and Dean. 

 

“Did you honestly not sense the charms saturating your bed before you hopped into it?” Draco asked without answering Harry’s question as he reached out to pull the dark haired veela closer, pressing their bodies together comfortably.

 

“Not all of us have fae powers, Draco.”

 

“It’s not a fae power, Harry.” Draco said sarcastically, his eyes rolling up toward the canopy above them. “It should be something that every wizard can do. I had to tell my dorm mates that I had snuck up here before dinner to cast a few privacy spells on the bed and while getting something from my trunk.”

 

“And they bought that?” Harry was only half listening to what his mate was saying, after all,  they had spent the entire day apart and now was the first time that he had been in contact since Draco had departed for Blaise’s at the crack of flipping dawn. 

 

“I can be convincing, but that’s not what we were discussing. We were talking about how oblivious you and your dorm mates are for not noticing the charms on your bed.”

 

“Technically, I had asked why you were here and you got all offended by my lack of magical knowledge. Not cute, Dray, not cute.” Harry punctuated that last sentence with a series of soft kisses up and down the hollow of Draco’s throat. An act that must have served its purpose when Draco didn’t even bat an eye at the nickname that he hated with a passion. 

 

“And I believe I answered that. There are charms on the bed, I can’t decipher them all since there are so many of them, but I can sense a space connecting charm somewhere in the mix. Whenever we get in bed together, the beds must connect along one side.” Draco’s arms wrapped even tighter around Harry as the teen reached up and began slowly undoing the buttons of the blonde’s pajama shirt. “There’s also silencing spells and a couple of contraceptive charms.”

 

That effectively made Harry pause and he pulled away from Draco ever so slightly in order to look up into the man’s grey eyes. “Contraceptives? Professor Dumbledore put contraceptive charms on our beds?” 

 

“My father did, actually.”

 

Because that made it better.

  
“So they assumed that we’d…”Harry drifted off and when Draco raised an eyebrow in amusement, the veela tucked his head against the blonde’s neck. “Merlin that’s embarrassing.”

 

“We are mated, Harry, and if Sirius hadn’t barged into your room last night, we would have completed the bond. I have no idea how you can act so bashful one moment and completely waton the next. Ow!”

 

Draco would have to glamour the bite mark in the morning, otherwise the whole school would see the deep tooth impressions in the side of the blonde’s neck. 

 

Harry soothed the bite mark with the flat of his tongue, running it up and down the bloodied mark and causing his mate to shiver and moan as he clutched at Harry’s back. Once the mark stopped bleeding, he took each side of Draco’s shirt in his hands and pulled roughly, popping the last few buttons and giving Harry access to more skin to kiss and suckle as he worked his way down Draco’s body. 

 

He managed to kiss his way down to Draco’s belly button before the blonde took a handful of Harry’s hair and gently pulled him back up his body to kiss him soundly. “I love you.” Draco whispered and it sent the same shiver down Harry’s spine that it did yesterday. 

 

“I love you, too.” Harry replied against his mate’s lips and pressed their mouths together again before shoving Draco back onto the bed and straddling the blonde before he had a chance to sit up again. “Each time you say that, I love hearing it even more.”

 

“I love you.” Draco told him with a smirk and reached up toward Harry’s face, cupping one hand over each cheek. “But if you don’t get back down here and kiss me, I’m going to make your life a living hell.”

 

“Well we can’t have that.” Harry laughed and when Draco’s hand migrated to the brunet’s hair and pulled ever so gently, the teen all but collapsed on top of Draco, a groan leaving his lips. There was just something about hair that drove him wild, he loved running his hands through Draco’s and it felt incredible when his own was touched or even pulled. The fae had picked up on it weeks ago and never failed to use it that fact for his own advantage. 

 

Draco used his hold on Harry’s hair to bring the other boy’s lips to his own and began to roughly explore his mate’s mouth. Harry let the blonde kiss him, moving his lips against Draco’s, but letting the other boy stay in control of it, allowing Harry to devote his attention to unbuttoning Draco’s slacks and shoving his hands under layers of fabric. 

 

The fae stilled when Harry’s hand wrapped around his cock and gently stroked the column of flesh, causing the other teen to pause his own movements and raise his head enough to look down at Draco’s face. 

 

“You alright?”

 

“Fine.” Draco smiled and unclenched his hands from Harry’s hair to move them down the dark veela’s chest to grip the edge of his shirt and roughly pull it over Harry’s head. “I trust you can remove your own trousers?”

 

Draco shifted under Harry and began wiggling out of his remaining clothes, spurring Harry to roll off his mate so that he was sitting on his half of the bed with his legs straight out in front of him. His eyes never left his mate as Draco removed his trousers and underwear, leaving him completely bare against the emerald green sheets. 

 

He’d seen the fae naked a few times over the summer, but this was different. Draco was naked, in his bed, and staring at Harry with a lustful look that was enough to have a blush raising over his cheeks. Definitely very different than watching his mate dress for the day. 

 

“Are you going to stare at me all night or take off your clothes and join me?”Draco asked, one hand tracing down his pale, hairless chest, past his bellybutton, and finally coming to rest on his hard cock, which was lying on his abdomen, flushed with blood and just begging for attention. 

 

Harry’s mouth went completely dry when his mate’s hand curled around his own cock and began to slowly stroke it without tearing his gaze from Harry. 

 

He nearly ripped his trousers pulling the damned things off of his legs in such a haste. Draco’s eyes scanned Harry’s form appreciatively but Harry was too focused on his mate to notice. Draco was so beautiful and Harry watched intently as the blonde twisted his hand around his own cock and when he bent his head backward, exposing that gorgeous, pale throat to Harry’s eyes as he let out a pleasured moan, Harry’s self control snapped. 

 

The dark veela threw himself on top of Draco with a soft growl and immediately locked his mouth onto the blonde’s neck. “So beautiful.” He moaned against the skin of Draco’s throat and began kissing his way down Draco’s chest. 

 

Draco’s hand was still wrapped around his own cock and when that hand moved ever so minutely under Harry’s weight, the veela let out a warning growl that very nearly had him pulling away from his mate in surprise.There was no way that a sound like that had come from him. 

 

“Woah there, tiger.” Draco laughed as though he was completely unconcerned that his mate was growling like a beast and licking and nipping at his stomach.

 

Good to know at least one of them wasn’t completely freaked out by it. 

 

A hand moved to rest on the back of Harry’s head and threaded his fingers through Harry’s hair. “It’s just me.” Draco’s second hand was gently pulled out from under Harry and joined the first in the brunet’s hair. “There’s no need to be a possessive arsehole.”

 

Harry let out a soft moan at the gentle petting he was recevinging and turned his head to rest his cheek against Draco’s abdomen and stare up at his mate’s face. 

 

“Don’t stop now.” Draco laughed with a sharp pull to Harry’s hair. “You’re about six inches from where you need to be.” Good Merlin did that do strange things to Harry’s stomach and send waves of arousal through his body, only to concentrate in his cock which was twitching against Draco’s calf with every word. 

 

Draco didn’t push Harry down or lead him down his body in any way shape or form. Harry moved freely down his mate’s body, his lips just barely brushing over the skin he passed, until he came to the head of his mate’s cock. It was pink and moist from precum and there had to be something wrong with Harry because he wanted nothing more then to taste it. If the way Draco’s hands were clenching painfully in his hair was any indication, the blonde wanted the same thing. 

 

Without a pause, Harry swooped forward and swallowed Draco down as far as he could until the head hit the back of his throat, causing him to gag and pull back to get a breath. 

 

“Don’t have to take the whole thing at once, tiger.” Draco moaned, petting Harry’s head gently. “I’m not going to complain if you take your time with it.”

 

Harry only nodded, too focused on his current task to speak. Hesitantly, he gripped the shaft with one hand and pressed his tongue along the underside to run a strip up the length of Draco’s cock before taking just the head in his mouth and sucking gently.

 

The groan that left Draco’s mouth should have been illegal, it went straight to Harry’s cock and had the dark veela looking up at his mate through his eyelashes, to see the blonde with his head thrown back and his own eyes shut tightly in pleasure.

 

“Look at me, Draco.” Harry ordered huskily and smirked when Draco immediately snapped his head up to look down at him. 

 

“Love it when you order me around.” Draco told him with a smile and let out a deep groan when Harry returned to showing his cock the attention it craved. Harry worked the shaft down slowly, bobbing his head up and down until he reached the point where he had gagged before. He was prepared for the strange sensation of something hitting the back of his throat and after a few attempts, managed to relax his throat enough to take his mate down all the way to the root. 

 

“Merlin, Harry.” Draco moaned and pleasure raced down Harry’s spine at the sound of his name on his mate’s lips. He looked up at his mate’s face and couldn’t control the displeased growl that left his throat when he saw that those grey eyes were tightly closed. 

 

The vibration from the growl had Draco gripping Harry’s hair until it was nearly painful and before Harry could swipe at the fingers pulling at him, Draco was coming down his throat with a hitching gasp. 

 

“I told you to look at me.” Harry grumbled as he pulled away from Draco’s softening cock and wiped the thin trail of come that had escaped from the corner of his mouth. Without saying a word, Draco’s hand snapped out and clutched Harry’s hand, bringing the come covered thumb to his own mouth and sucking it in eagerly. 

 

Harry whimpered as Draco’s tongue twirled around his thumb, only to cover his mouth with his other hand to keep from laughing when Draco’s face scrunched up in disgust. 

 

“You swallowed that?” Draco asked dropping Harry’s thumb as though it had personally offended him. 

 

“Most of it.”

 

“You poor bastard. Sorry I didn’t warn you, if I knew it was going to be that bad, I would have pulled you away or something.”

 

“It’s delicious, Draco.” Harry told him and Draco looked at him as though he was the craziest person alive. “Salty and just a little bit sweet since I honestly believe you live off of sugar.” He leaned up to kiss his mate, only to be stopped by two hands on his chest. 

 

“Scorgify.” The spell was said so quickly, that Harry hadn’t even been aware that Draco had pulled his wand and only saw a flash of the dark wood as it disappeared under the green pillow. “Now you can kiss me.”

 

“Now my mouth feels like sandpaper, so forget it.” Harry sighed and rolled onto his side to lay next to Draco, his head cocked up on one hand as he stared down at his mate.

 

“I wasn’t about to let you kiss me with that in your mouth!” Draco argued and when Harry only lifted an eyebrow in amusement, the blonde pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him, aligning their bodies perfectly.  

 

“I should have warned you before I did it.” Draco tried and pressed his lips under Harry’s jaw. “But I wanted to kiss you and didn’t want to wait.” The blonde’s lips traveled up Harry’s face until they were pressed against Harry’s ear. 

 

“I was so torn when you growled at me.” Draco continued, his voice lowering and each word coming out in a husky whisper that went straight to Harry’s cock. “I wanted you to keep going, keep sucking me and growling the whole time, but I wanted to kiss you so badly. To feel that growl against my lips.” Draco’s tongue gently traced along the shell of Harry’s ear as the blonde’s hand wiggled its way between their bodies to grip Harry’s cock in a firm hold. 

 

“The sound did incredible things to me.”

 

“Your voice is doing incredible things to _me_.” Harry whispered, his eyes going cross eyed when Draco began to slowly stroke him. 

 

Draco didn’t approve of Harry speaking and he bit the dark veela’s ear roughly before soothing over the mark with his tongue. 

 

“As I was saying.” Draco continued as his hand sped up and Harry tried desperately to buck up into the grip, only to find that Draco’s weight made that impossible. “That growl brought some very interesting thoughts to my mind.”

 

“You should have only been thinking of me.” Harry argued, “I was sucking your cock after-”

 

Draco was the one to growl this time, though it sounded more like a whimper mixed with an attempt to clear his throat than a real growl, and he bit Harry’s ear once again, not bothering to lick away the sting this time. All the while his hand never stopped moving and the sharp sting from the bite only served to make Harry even more aroused if possible.

 

“I _was_ thinking about you,” Draco’s tongue dipped into Harry’s ear and when the dark veela moved to turn his head and ask Draco what the fuck he was doing, the blonde’s hand reached up and forced his head to the side. “Bad boy. Stay. I’m trying to talk to you.”

 

Draco’s warm breath traveling over Harry’s wet skin, ceased any thought Harry had of talking back or moving away from Draco’s grip.

 

“I was thinking how incredible it would be to have you throw me onto this bed and press me into it face first. How your hands would feel ripping off my clothes and holding me down, ordering me not to move and growling dangerously every time I tried. And I would try, just to hear you.” The image was vivid in Harry’s mind now and he whimpered helplessly against Draco’s hold and pathetically bucked and writhed in his mate’s grip.

 

“I would have been horrible all day, calling you nasty names in class, tripping you in hallways, and sabotaging your potions. I would have done it all on purpose, so you would punish me. You wouldn’t prepare me, I would have done it before dinner because I would know what I had gotten myself into and would be excited for it. You would grab my hip with one hand and shove your cock inside of me, I’d try to get my hands under me so I could turn to you but you would grab my hair with a growl and force my face into the mattress.”

 

“Oh Merlin.” Harry moaned and Draco didn’t punish him for the words, only laughed huskily into his ear. 

 

“You would be so far gone, you’d be more beast than man. Your wings would be fluttering behind you, your claws would be digging into my skin, making me bleed and adding just enough pain to enhance the pleasure. I would be moaning the whole time, whispering your name with every thrust and would try to reach for my cock, to stroke myself in time with you, but you’d grab my wrists and hold them above my head. The hand in my hair would never leave, I know how you love it, but the hand on my hip would be the one to fall and you’d lean over me, your mouth over my ear, growling and snarling as you fucked me.

 

“I’d come without you touching my cock and you’d growl even louder, pleased with yourself, I’m sure. Then human words would finally leave your mouth.” Draco paused for a moment as he sped up his hand, turning Harry into a pile of goo. 

 

“ _My mate_. You’d say it over and over into my ear as you pulled my hair and slammed your cock into me. You’d say it a final time as you came inside of me, your teeth sinking into my throat. Dark veela do that, you know, bite their partners when they mate.”

 

Draco pulled away from Harry, who was now a panting mess and traveled down the veela’s body until his face was directly over Harry’s cock. He released his grip on the shaft, but in the same moment, his warm, velvety, perfect mouth was wrapped around him and Harry let out a surprised shout before he came on Draco’s tongue; his whole body shaking and twitching with the force of it. 

 

“You’re right.” Draco laughed as he sat up on his hutches as Harry laid on his back, completely dead to the world and only able to move his eyes to see Draco licking at his fingers and twirling his tongue around the outside of his mouth. 

 

“This does taste good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that gave me their input on Harry's reaction to finding out he has a second mate. Everyone was so spot on and really understood Harry's character. A lot of you confirmed my own feelings so that gave me quite a confidence boost!


	9. Novels Know Best

“Good morning.” Draco whispered as Harry slowly blinked his eyes open. They were laying on their combined bed, Harry’s head pillowed on Draco’s chest and the blonde’s arm wrapped tightly around Harry’s middle.

“Good morning.” Harry replied, “How are you feeling after last night?” Because even half asleep, there was no way that Harry was going to forget everything that had happened just a few hours ago. 

“Fantastic.” Draco smiled and leaned down to press a soft kiss to Harry’s lips. “I love you, still.”

“Still?”

“The bond completed itself last night.” Draco explained with a head tilt as he stared down at Harry like he was insane. “It wasn’t a full consummation, but we both came at the hand, or rather mouth, of the other and solidified the bond.”

Harry blushed at Draco’s words and buried his face in his mate’s chest. How could the blonde be so crude yet so proper at the same time?

“I didn’t realize that would cause it, but now that you’ve said that, I can tell a difference. There’s not a...force pulling me toward you, I’m here because I want to be.” Harry had been living with the pull in his chest for so long that he had forgotten that it was there, not having it was actually a little unsettling. Almost as if he didn’t know what he was supposed to or feel without someone guiding him. 

“So your feelings haven’t changed?” Draco asked happily, nuzzling the side of Harry’s neck as he let out a happy chuckle. “All of that worrying and-”

“I don’t love you.” Harry whispered, dread filling every fiber of his being as the realization came to him. He didn’t feel the same as he had last night, he wasn’t just missing the pull, he was missing that...wholeness too, despite forming a complete mating bond with Draco.

“I like you, a lot. I don’t want to be separated from you and I want to kiss you and do what we did last night and more if you want, but...I remember what it was like to love you and I don’t anymore.”

The words hurt to say, but the devastated look on Draco’s face completely tore Harry’s heart to shreds. 

“I shouldn’t have said anything.” He apologized, reaching out for his mate to hold him and comfort him through his obvious pain. His fingers never made contact as Draco shimmied himself away from Harry with a sad smile.

“No, I’m glad you did. I wouldn’t want you to say you loved me if you didn’t. The bond was affecting us quite a bit, despite the block on it, so I’m not surprised that your true feelings didn’t form as quickly as the bond wanted them to.”

“I do care about you, though.” Harry whispered and this time, when he reached out for the blonde, he leaned closer to Harry and allowed the veela to pull him into a forceful hug. “Give it a month and I’ll love you all over again. If I didn’t know what it was like to love you because of the bond, then I’d think that was what I’m feeling for you. I know what true love is, I’ve felt it before and I know I’ll feel it again, if it’s the last thing I do.”

“You’re my mate, Harry.” Draco said against Harry’s chest, “whether you love me now, tomorrow, or never, that will never change and I will never stop loving you. Don’t lie to me and don’t put a time limit on your feelings, just tell me when and if they change, alright?” The blonde pulled away to look down at Harry with a small smile on his lips.

To anyone else on the planet, Draco would have looked like his normal self, hell, he would have looked better than his normal self, but Harry saw right through it. Draco was hurting and it was all his fault. 

“Dray I-”

“It’s almost seven, Harry, we should be getting ready for breakfast.” He broke away from Harry’s hold and tore open the curtains on his side of the bed, separating their two beds and leaving Harry sitting on his bed, alone and in complete darkness.

-

Classes were horrible. Harry had known before he had even stepped foot on the train that Draco and he would have to act like their old selves, he understood that, but the old Draco at least looked at him, even if it was only a glare over the top of a cauldron. 

Old Draco’s feelings of hurt and rejection didn’t transmit right through to Harry either. 

“Is everything okay, with, you know?” Hermione asked during charms class, after both she and Harry had managed to complete the fire freeze charm perfectly and were waiting patiently for the rest of class to finish up. 

“It will be, I think.” Harry replied and when Hermione only continued to stare him down, Harry relented and continued on after preforming a strong muffling charm around them, not that any of the students were paying them any mind. “We completed the bond last night and he still loves me, but I don’t love him.”

“And you told him that?” She asked with a wince and Harry nodded with a groan as he clutched his head between his hands. 

“He was going on about how happy he was that our feelings hadn’t changed and I couldn’t just let him go on believing I still loved him, when I didn’t, that wouldn’t have been fair. I mean, I still care about him and want to be with him, but I don’t think that made it easier to swallow.”

“Think about it from his perspective though,” Hermione said slowly, resting a hand on top of Harry’s on the desk. “The man he loves just told him that he fell out of love with him.”

“I know, I can’t imagine going through what he is. He has every right to be angry and hurt, but it tears me apart to see him like that. I care about him so much.” Harry looked around the room and made sure that everyone was still focused on the flames in from of them before strengthening the muffling the spell and leaning toward Hermione and whispering soft enough that anyone that was listening in would have had to use some rather high level spell work just to hear them, let alone break the muffle. 

“Over the break, Sirius told me that I’d know that I loved Draco when I wanted to be around him all the time and would die to protect him. That’s what I feel like now.”

“Then you do love him?” Hermione asked, her head tilting to the side as though to better look into Harry’s soul. 

“Nearly. But when the bond was in control of me, I felt real love, Hermione. It was so much stronger than this. I felt like I was lost when he and I were apart and I would have died, not just for his life, but another moment with him. Maybe that was the bond talking, maybe that’s unhealthy obsession instead of real love, but that’s what I had and that’s what I want to have again.”

“Did you tell him that?” Hermione was smiling softly at him and her hand tightened around his fingers. 

“Kind of. He was very distraught and left before I could talk to him too much about it.”

“When you get him alone, tell him what you just told me. Tell him that you were wrong, that you do love him with all your heart but you’re working on loving him with all your soul.”

So she wanted him to lie? That wasn’t very Hermione like.

Hermione must have seen the question written all over Harry’s face because she let out a sigh and whispered “stupid boys” under her breath so softly that Harry wouldn’t have been able to make it out if he hadn’t heard his friend say the line a thousand times over the years.

“Do you love me, Harry?” She asked and Harry nearly fell backward, right out of his chair and into Seamus’ desk. What kind of question was that? “As a friend, I mean, stupid.”

“Yeah. Of course I do.” She’d been his friend for almost seven years, of course he loved her. It was the same love he had for Ron, Neville, Luna, Seamus, Dean, and even Ginny. 

“Would you die for me?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“Would you make a deal to lay down your life just to see me for ten seconds?”

“No.” And in that moment, Harry knew exactly what Hermione was getting at. Just because he didn’t love her like he loved Draco under the bond’s influence, didn’t mean he didn’t love her at all. It was a different kind of affection on a different level, but still love all the same. 

“Is this just a magical skill that only women have?” Harry asked with a worn out sigh as he let the charm around them drop and turned his attention to Professor Flitwick, who was moving onto the second charm of the day. “Because I’m complete bollocks at this emotional stuff.”

“Amen.” Seamus said from behind Harry, reaching down to pat his housemate on the shoulder, causing Dean and Ron to snicker softly and cover their mouths to keep the sound from making it to the front of the room. 

“Nope, sorry to tell you boys, but it’s all from romance novels.” Hermione smiled, her eyes focused on a piece of parchment as she quickly scratched down notes from Flitwick’s lecture. 

“Books?” Ron asked in shock, “you mean to tell me that all of the times I came to you about my girl problems and even our issues, you were using information that you learned from books?”

Hermione’s quill paused over the parchment and Harry bit his lip in amusement as the witch careful put her quill to the side and turned her head to look past Harry and at Ron, who was sitting on his opposite side. 

He knew sitting between the two would be a bad idea.

“I fail to understand why the idea that the knowledge came from a book is more startling to you than the idea that it’s merely innate information that is only passed down to one gender.”

Hermione gave the group of boys a charming smile and stared them down as though begging one of them to say something stupid. 

“Hear that, guys?” Harry asked with a forced laugh as he turned his attention to his own notes. “Protection charms are tested on both the Charms and DADA N.E.W.T, isn’t that good to know? I think that’s really good to know.”

“Absolutely.” Ron agreed. 

“Vital, even.” Dean responded and Hermione smiled softly before returning her attention on the professor, who was now demonstrating the proper use of some high level shield charms. 

“Thanks, Hermione.” Harry said softly, reaching over to lightly brush the back of his hand against her’s. “You’re the best.”

“I’ve been told.” Was the whispered reply as his friend’s hand shot to the side to playfully push Harry’s back over to his side. “Now pay attention, if you have to repeat this year because of everything going on, I will murder you.”

Harry immediately shot his gaze up at the demonstration in front of him, sweat beading at his temples at the memory of Hermione’s words. 

-

As Harry took his seat in DADA, he kept his gaze locked onto the doorway, intent on finding Draco’s eyes when he walked in. He knew that if he could just get a moment of eye contact, that he could push his feelings through the bond and tell Draco how he felt and lessen the mind numbing ache that was powerful enough to make its way into Harry. 

He’s coming. Harry thought as his bond suddenly flared to life and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. 

Harry straightened up in his chair and was nearly bouncing in place with his excitement, only to fall still when it wasn’t Draco that walked in, but his father. Odd. But they had similar magic, Harry told himself, shrugging off the incidence and pulling his attention back to the doorway. 

This time, when the bond flared up, Harry knew it was his mate and waited patiently for the blonde to step through the door and for Harry to put this whole ordeal to rest. Unfortunately, Draco kept his eyes locked on the ground in front of him, only lifting them long enough to nod at his father standing in the front of the room, and to kick his foot out and trip Neville who was rushing to his seat. 

He didn’t so much as glance in Harry’s direction, let alone meet his eyes. If they were anywhere else or had different names and different fates, then Harry would have marched over to his mate, grabbed him by the front of his poncy shirt and demand that his mate pay attention to him. As it was, they were in Hogwarts castle, with enemies around every corner, and being seen together would not only mean their deaths, but the death of everyone they cared about. So Harry remained seated on the opposite side of the room and soaked in the unbearable pain that was filtering over to him as Professor Malfoy began speaking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm kinda freaking out right now. I just cracked 100 bookmarks on this story and I'm still in quite a bit of shock over it. I thought I would be lucky to have ten bookmarks and never imagined so many people finding this story worth reading. Thank you to everyone for hanging in for nine chapters and hopefully sticking with me through the rest of this crazy story.


	10. Good Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peoples. This time, the note is at the top because I like to change things up. 
> 
> In this chapter there is a dream sequence, it's separated by ~ symbols and it's pretty easy to identify but I don't want anyone getting all confused. 
> 
> Thank you again to everyone that's commented, bookmarked, and kudosed (it's a word now). All of the love this story has gotten makes me stupidly proud and puts a smile on my face. Have a good weekend!

“The bond completion didn’t go the way they wanted it to.” Lucius whispered as he took his seat next to Severus at the head table. Classes had officially ended for the day and this was the first time he had the opportunity to speak to his best friend since the previous night, when the vampire may or may not have poured him drinks until he was slumped over on the couch sobbing like a teenage girl. 

 

“Hmm?” Severus asked, leaning away from Lucius when the fae leaned toward him and effectively insinuated himself into the potions master’s personal space. “Do I want to know how you know that?”

 

“Well the pain coming through Harry’s side of our bond says a lot, but just look at them. Last night, it was like they had been mated for decades, so in-tuned with each other, but now they’re acting like the other doesn’t even exist.” Lucius’ eyes scanned over the gathered the students and locked onto Harry for a moment.

 

The teen was talking with his friends, a false smile spreading across his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Everyone around him had nearly cleared their plates, but Harry’s fork was still lying neatly on his napkin as though he hadn’t so much as taken a bite since he’d arrived. Seventeen year old wizards and especially seventeen year old veelas didn’t miss meals without due cause. 

 

He tore his eyes away and scanned each of the tables to keep any onlookers from discovering that he only had his eye on two students, until he finally gazed at his son who was sitting quietly in the center of the table, staring down at his plate as though it was a blast-ended shrewt. He gave Parkinson and Zabini short, clipped answers when they turned toward him, but otherwise, he was silent, not something Draco Malfoy was often accused of being. 

 

“That’s how they’re supposed to act, Lucius. In case you’ve forgotten, there are dozens of spies in this castle and each of them are just waiting to see who Draco spends his time with, who he stares at, who he brushes past in the hall. Its when they do act like the other exists that we need to be concerned.”

 

“When do you have them in class next?” The blonde asked with a sigh, knowing that there was no way Severus was going to understand just how messed up his mate’s bond was until he saw the two interact like he had. 

 

Severus eyed him suspiciously for a moment before answering, as though ensure if this was some kind of test or a trap he was about to walk into. “Tomorrow morning.”

 

“Then watch them and tell me you don’t see that something is troubling them. I don’t know if their feelings for each other vanished after the bond-”

  
“Doubtful, the wall bind you placed on them should have blocked the bond out enough for their feelings to be only minimally affected.” 

 

“That’s what I thought, but the bond was completed last night, I felt Harry’s happiness when it occurred and this morning I was torn awake by a horrible pain in my chest.” Lucius shivered at just the memory of it. The pain of his own bond with Harry cracking was nothing compared to anguish that had filled him, but whether that was because the pain was truly that intense or because it was building on the rejection of Harry’s bond, Lucius had no idea.

 

“They’re teenagers, Lucius. They’re probably acting stupid and they’ll get it over in a day like all teenagers do.” Severus rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics and settled into his meal, leaving Lucius as the only one concerned. 

 

Food appeared on his plate, but Lucius just stared at it, in too much pain to even think of eating. His behavior drew the attention of the potions master and Severus let out an aggravated half snarl, half sigh as he turned his burning onyx eyes onto his friend. The look was enough to make full grown adults run screaming from a room and the effect wasn’t the least bit lost on Lucius.

 

“If it hurts that damn badly, block out both sides of the bond like you were doing before. It’s Potter’s bond transmitting the pain to you, not yours drawing it in. His veela nature is trying to get through to his mate and is using both of its bonds to do it. Now, if you block his side of it off, it has the dual effect of erasing your pain and doubling Draco’s so the brat figures out there’s something wrong with Potter.”

 

“You were the one that was telling me just last night that there was no way for me to keep both of those shields up.” Lucius pointed out softly as he nudged his mashed potatoes around his plate, mixing them with other items and making a complete mess of his dinner. “Besides, I put the shield back in place last night.”

 

And the dark silence coming from Severus was the exact reason why he hadn’t told the other man. 

 

“You put the shield over the brat’s bond and you’re still getting this much pain from him?”

 

“You were right when you said I couldn’t hold it.” Lucius admitted and pushed his plate away to turn his attention fully to his friend. “I managed to scrape together a half decent shield last night when Harry’s happiness kept me from sleeping, but I don’t have my reserves of magic anymore and the shield is about as useful as a mosquito net holding back a waterfall.”

 

Severus’ eyes softened and Lucius shook his head in denial before the vampire had the chance to even voice his thoughts.

 

“No.” He verbalized when it looked like Severus was going to ask it anyway. 

 

“You put it on Draco and Potter, why not let me put it on you? It won’t drain your magic and it’ll take away most of this pain you’re suffering from.” Severus pushed and Lucius simply shook his head in firm denial. 

 

“No, I won’t stand for the control of MY BOND being taken away from me. It was one thing to put it on the teenagers, but I’d rather handle it myself, Severus.”

 

“But you aren’t handling it!” Severus hissed, “you’re in so much pain that you can’t eat and you can barely keep your eyes open half the time. What’s the point of maintaining the control of the bond when it’s causing you this much hassle?”

 

Lucius didn't quite know what to say to that. Yes, the bond was causing him a hassle, yes it was causing him pain, and it was draining most of his magic each and every day, but for some reason, he didn't want to lose it. And if Severus put the block on the bond like the one that he had placed on Draco's, then he would be losing that portion of the bond forever. After all, the spell had been made to be used on young bond mates, blocking off the bond until they completed it and then disappearing again. They didn't lose that part of the bond, they just put it away for awhile.

 

However, if Severus put it on him, he would never get that part of the bond back, it would be lost forever, that wasn't something that Lucius could tolerate.

 

"I-" Lucius paused and took in a deep, steadying breath. "If I offered to block out your bond, would you have agreed to it?" Maybe he didn't have to explain his feelings to Severus, after all, the man had felt his own bond.

 

"No, but I didn't reject my mate."

 

"I didn't reject him!" Lucius hissed and his eyes widened in shock at the snarling tone that had left his mouth.

 

"Boys." Minerva McGonagall whispered pleasantly from next to Severus, her eyes never once leaving the students in front of her. "Perhaps this argument can be taken somewhere else, I doubt you want the entire Great Hall knowing about your bonds."

 

The teachers already knew everything that had happened over the summer, since a majority of them were a part of the order and the ones that weren't were put under an altered fidelius that kept them from saying anything about it.

 

"I apologize, Minevra." Severus said as Lucius' gaze fell to his plate, feeling irrationally abashed, as though he was a student caught in the halls after hours. "You're correct, we should keep personal matters to our chambers."

 

"No need to apologize to me." She laughed, "I don't care what you talk about, but I know a dozen Slytherin seventh years and a handful of Ravenclaws that do."

 

"Point taken."

 

-

 

Harry sat in the center of his bed, the curtains drawn around him, and waited for Draco to join him. He'd been patiently waiting for over an hour and with every minute that passed, his resolve faded away and the nagging pain in the center of his chest increased. Was the fae really going to ignore him and refuse to come to bed?

 

A quick tempest charm showed that more than three hours had passed since dinner had ended and Harry had diligently climbed into bed to wait for his mate.

 

_ Apparently he isn't coming. _ Harry thought sadly and laid down with a pillow clutched to his chest. He and Draco had been sharing a bed for weeks now, even when Draco was adamant about nothing happening between them. The presence of their mate had brought each of them a sense of peace and enhanced their sleep.

 

Without Draco, it took another hour of lying in bed before sleep finally claimed Harry.

 

~

 

_ Harry slowed blinked open his eyes and blearily looked up at the black ceiling above his head. Even though it was clear that this wasn't his room, that knowledge didn't startle him at all and he slowly sat up and looked around the new room. Not only was the ceiling black, but the walls, the floor, and even the sheets, pillows, and comforter of the bed he was lying in were as well.  _

 

_ “Harry?” At the sound on his name, Harry looked to his left to find Draco standing in the center of the room, seemingly floating in the blackness that surrounded him, making him look even paler and more ethereal than usual. _

 

_ “Draco? Where are we?” Because this most certainly wasn’t Hogwarts and the fact he couldn’t remember coming here was starting to eat away at the false sense of calm that had surrounded his mind.  _

 

_ Draco only smiled warmly at Harry’s question and crossed the distance between them in a single step before climbing onto the bed and covering Harry’s body with his own.  _

 

_ “Does it matter?” Draco asked with a warm smile that made Harry’s heart flutter like a teenage girl’s in a YA novel. “It’s a dream.” The whispered words were said against Harry’s lips just moments before they were claimed in a soul searing kiss that had the dark veela moaning helplessly  as he tangled his fingers in Draco’s hair.  _

 

_ Was this really a dream? Harry thought as Draco’s hands trailed down his sides, pulling down his pajama bottoms and lifting his tshirt over Harry’s head, somehow without breaking their kiss. This felt, tasted, and even smelt so real. It didn’t have that half hazy sensation that every other dream he had ever experienced seemed to possess.  _

 

_ It didn’t matter. Draco felt so good against him, his mouth was heaven against Harry’s jaw and his fingers absolutely sinful against his cock.  _

 

_ “I love you.” Harry whispered as Draco’s fingers slowly traveled to Harry’s entrance and circled the opening without pushing in. Dream Draco froze above Harry, his head raising up to look Harry directly in the eye.  _

 

_ “What?” Draco asked and Harry wondered if he had somehow managed to upset even this version of his mate.  _

 

_ “I love you.” Harry repeated and didn’t give his dream mate the opportunity to reply before he tightened his hold in Draco’s hair and pulled the blonde’s lips back to his. _

 

This was his dream dammit! 

 

_ “Fuck me.” He whispered against Draco’s lips, before claiming them once again and smiling giddyily when the blonde completely relaxed against him and released a whimpering moan of pleasure.  _

 

_ One of Draco’s fingers gently entered Harry’s body and the veela tore his mouth free of his mate’s as he threw his head back and let lose a throaty groan that only intensified as Draco’s mouth attacked his neck while he added one finger after another to Harry’s body.  _

 

_ “Enough.” Harry gasped, his eyes half rolled back into his head as Draco moved three fingers in and out of his body. “It’s a dream, you can’t hurt me. Just do it, Draco, please.” _

 

_ The words had only just left his mouth when he felt the blunt head of Draco’s cock pushing inside of him. Draco’s pale neck was arched back beautifully and Harry latched onto the side of it with a pleased chirp and moved his hands to rest on the small of Draco’s back and between his shoulder blades, in order to draw his mate’s body down on top of him.  _

 

_ “You feel incredible.” Draco whispered in wonder, each word causing the throat beneath Harry’s lips to vibrate pleasantly. “Better than any other dream I’ve ever had.” _

_   
_ _ “Yes.” Harry agreed with a sharp cry as Draco grazed over something inside of him that had pleasure radiating up his spine and made his entire body convulse in pleasure. _

 

_ His eyes were tightly closed and Harry blindly sought out his mate’s lips, following his mate’s throat and jaw line until he managed to claim them with a soft growl. “Don’t you dare stop.” _

 

_ The words egged Draco on, causing him to increase the speed and intensity of his thrusts until Harry was panting roughly against Draco’s lips, too short of breath to kiss him, but unwilling to pull away from those delicious lips. _

 

_ He could feel Draco’s breath on his face and lips, so the feeling of lips touching the side of his neck, had him snapping his eyes open in surprise. Draco’s eyes were still closed tightly as he moved inside of Harry and the veela turned his head ever so slightly to see Lucius Malfoy laying in the bed next to him, his body completely pressed against Harry’s side as his lips worked along the underside of Harry’s jaw.  _

 

_ “Lucius?” Harry whispered and Draco didn’t so much as flinch, though Lucius’ head snapped up at the sound.  “what are you-” _

 

_ Lucius didn’t respond and only sent him a sly smirk before attacking Harry’s neck all over again.  _

 

_ Why was the older Malfoy here, in his sex dream about Draco? Was this about the confusion today in DADA? Was his stupid subconscious making more out of a simple misunderstanding than it needed to? _

 

_ These questions swept through Harry’s mind but as soon as he pondered them they were washed away. This was his dream, he was going to enjoy it, logic and morals be damned. _

 

_ The hand that had been clutching at the small of Draco’s sweaty back, found itself in Lucius’ hair as he arched up toward the older man’s mouth and canted his hips upward and back to meet each of Draco’s thrusts.  _

 

_ “Yes!” Harry screamed when Draco’s nails dug into Harry’s hips, holding him in place to roughly slam into him again and again as he latched his mouth onto the opposite side of Harry’s neck than the one his father had claimed.  _

 

_ “You love having him inside of you.” Lucius whispered huskily into Harry’s ear as he gasped and panted at the sensations assaulting his body. “How would you feel about both of us fucking you? Both of our cocks inside of your tight body, claiming you, owning you, making you-” _

 

_ “Ah!” Harry gasped as his eyes rolled up into his head and his body tightened and spasmed as he came violently between himself and Draco, the sound of Lucius’ laughing an ever present fixture in his ear.  _

 

_ “Good boy.” _

 

~

 

Harry sat up in bed with a gasp, his heart beating frantically in his chest. He brought one of his hands to his chest, as though the pressure would be enough to still his pounding heart and stared at the closed curtains surrounding him while memories of his dream came flooding back. 

 

It wasn’t unusual for him to have dreams about Draco, if anything Harry would have thought it odd for him not to be dreaming of him after everything that had happened that day, but Lucius… was different.

 

Guilt hit him like an iron fist in the gut. He had just hurt Draco with his inability to recognize his own feelings and now that he had finally realized that he loved the prat, he was having sex dreams about his father. Good Merlin, he was a real piece of shit, wasn’t he?

 

He knew that he couldn’t control his dreams and feeling guilty was irrational, but this dream had felt so real, he could still remember the feel of Lucius’ hair between his fingers and the velvety softness of his lips on Harry’s neck. The memory was as vivid as Harry and Draco’s mating the night before and if that didn’t completely sour Harry’s stomach and send waves of nausea rolling through him, then nothing would. 

 

“Just forget about it.” Harry whispered to himself as he pulled at his short hair, “It wasn’t like you accosted the man in the hallway, you just dreamed about him. Draco was even there, for goodness sake.”

 

He didn’t dare say it out loud, but he mentally reminded himself about that dream he’d had about Snape last year. Just because his subconscious cooked it up, didn’t mean his waking mind wanted anything to do with the idea. 

 

But that was half of Harry’s problem, he realized in horror as he sprinted from the bed and ran into one of the bathroom stalls as though his life depended on it before emptying the contents of his stomach. Now that he was awake and fully alert, he realized that he did like the idea that the dream had sprouted and that was why he was being flooded with so much guilt over it.

 

The memory of Draco’s hurt look flashed in front of Harry’s eyes, the way the happiness had faded from his silver eyes with every word that left Harry’s mouth. Harry was never going to stop hurting Draco, was he?

  
A broken sob left his throat just as a second wave of nausea swept over him.


	11. Make Your Life A Living Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'll pretend that this chapter came out on time and that I didn't completely throw my fic to the wind as I frantically studied for finals. That said, I will continue to post regularly for the rest of the summer unless something absolutely crazy pops up.
> 
> I'll also be taking prompts throughout the summer. If anyone has any, you can post them in the comments and I'll hopefully get to them eventually.

 

“Today, we’re going to be discussing the use of shield charms in offensive attacks.” Lucius said charmingly to the class of seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins. He was sitting on the edge of his desk in the front of the classroom and from that position, he could plainly see Harry, who was staring down at the top of his desk as though it had personally offended him, and a pining Draco that was staring at his mate from across the room as though he was the last drop of water in a dessert. 

 

It was clear that whatever had happened between them the day before had yet to be resolved. Thankfully, he had managed to strengthen the shield he had over Harry’s bond and the pain from yesterday had completely stopped. From the look Draco was giving his mate, that pain was now being rerouted to its proper destination.

 

It was thanks to Severus’ and Lucius’ conversation at the head table the night before that Lucius was able to build a strong enough wall around Harry’s mate-ship bond to block out the pain. Minerva had overheard most of it and after leaving the Great Hall, the transfiguration teacher had made the suggestion of dropping the shield when he was sleeping at night in order to regain enough magic to place a more powerful one when he was awake. Of course that meant taking a rather inadvisable dose of sleeping drought to nod off with the pain from Harry’s side of the bond eating at him, but it had worked rather well all things considered.

 

Of course, once the idiots figured out their bond, he could release the infernal wall all together. Something he should have been able to do once they mated for the first time, but the hurt Harry had experienced so soon after the bond was completed had thrown the bond into chaos, forcing it to reach out to anyone it could reach. 

 

If the brats had controlled their emotions for another few days, or preferably a week, then the thin seal that had formed between Harry and Lucius’ bond, wouldn’t have torn and reopened. 

 

“One of the unique properties of most shield charms is that they have this dual purpose.” Lucius continued, his smile never faltering, despite the pained look he saw on his son’s face.

 

_ It’s twice as bad as what I was feeling, but he’s the only one that can do something about it.  _

 

“There are some exceptions of course, but most can be used as a defensive measure, kept in place and then thrown at your opponent in an offensive attack without using any additional magic. It requires a good deal of concentration and skill, but once its mastered, it allows the user to get two uses out of a single spell. Now if I can have a volunteer…”

 

A few hands were raised into the air and Lucius motioned for Parkinson to come up to the front and stand a few feet away from him. 

 

“On the count of three, I want you to send a stinging hex at me, alright?” Lucius asked and when the girl nodded in understanding, he continued on. “The shield is going to come flying back at you, but it’s very mild and shouldn’t  do anything more than push you back a few inches.”

 

The young woman didn’t look the least bit phased and smirked arrogantly as she raised her wand. “I’m sure I can handle whatever you throw at me,  _ professor _ .” 

 

_Just like a Parkinson_. Lucius thought to himself and counted to three loudly enough for the girl to hear him. Once he hit three, a purple spell flew from Parkinson’s wand and was absorbed by the bright orange shield that Lucius had conjured. With an additional flick of his wand, the orange dome around Lucius’ form shot forward and slammed into Parkinson, causing her to take a startled step back. 

 

“Useful?” He asked and the class just stared at him blankly.

 

_ Didn’t they understand how much this could help each and every one of them? Of course not, it’s the last class of the day and they all want to go to dinner and find someone willing to snog.  _

 

_ Teenagers. _

 

“The instructions for it on page 456.” Lucius sighed at the unenthusiastic bunch. “After everyone has read through it, I’ll push the desks along the wall and allow everyone to get a chance to practice it. Any questions?”

 

“What if we’ve already read it?” Zabini asked cockily, the small smile on his face proof enough that he was just trying to aggravate the older man. He succeeded. 

 

“You can read it again. If you finish it before the last person has, then you’ll read it a third time, if you finish it again, then you came up to the board and draw a diagram of the spell in action to assist the class.”

 

Because stupid questions did exist, no matter what Dumbledore tried to tell him.

 

-

 

Harry partnered up with Ron to practice the shield charm and started up a conversation about quidditch to get his mind off of his argument with Draco and the guilt that plagued him every time he so much as looked at Lucius. His bond hadn’t confused him for Draco again, but the memory of his dream last night was enough to make even gazing at the man impossible.

 

The technique was simple enough for Harry to pick up, after two failed attempts, he managed to send his shield crashing into Ron and knocked him off his feet. However, he seemed to be the outlier and everyone else in the class, including Draco, was trying again and again, yet unable to make the shield move an inch. 

 

“Good work, Harry.” Lucius said happily as the fae placed a hand on his shoulder in congratulations. “Any tips for the class?”

 

“I just did what the book said.” Harry replied, keeping his eyes straight ahead and focused on Ron. “Maintain the shield after the attack and focus on moving that spot of magic forward, toward your opponent. Simple enough.”

 

“Simple for you, Harry.” Lucius corrected and walked away to help a pair of Slytherins that were unable to even conjure a shield correctly.

 

“Ready for another try?” Ron asked when Harry just stared at him unblinkingly. “I think I almost had it that last time.”

 

He hadn’t, but Harry wasn’t about to tell him that.

 

“Sure.” Harry watched as the bright purple shield formed around Ron and he sent a jelly-legs jinx flying at the wall. It deflected it perfectly and it remained in place for a few more seconds before moving forward an inch and disappearing all together.

 

“Did you see that!” Ron exclaimed with an air fist bump and a wide smile. “I told you that I almost had it!”

 

“Good job, Ron.”

 

-

 

By the time class ended, Ron did actually managed to send his shield flying at Harry, though it merely evaporated when it made contact instead of pushing him back. It was a good start and better than most of the other students were able to accomplish so Ron was more than happy with those results. 

 

“So I think with a few more practice rounds, I’ll get it in no time.” Ron said animatedly as he, Neville, Hermione, Dean, and Harry walked out of the classroom and began heading for the Great Hall. The other boys were all in agreement with the red head and Harry muttered his own response as his eyes scanned over the students in the hallway. 

 

He found Draco speaking with Zabini to the left of their group and decided that enough was enough. He missed his mate and he was going to get him back, dammit.

 

“I’ll see you guys in the Great Hall, I’m just going to drop off my books first.” Harry said quickly and pulled away from his group before any of them could ask for him to take theirs as well and headed over to Draco. 

 

He walked past the blonde without saying a word and only kicked gently at his foot as he passed to get his attention.  Once he was a few steps away, he looked over his shoulder and saw Draco staring at him quizzically as he listened to Zabini speak. 

 

Good, he had noticed him then. Now it was just a matter of waiting to see if the blonde would want to talk to him. After he had decided not to come to bed the night before, Harry was doubtful that the blonde would follow him into the abandoned classroom that he had slipped into.

 

The desks and chairs in the room were covered in cobwebs and Harry casted a quick cleaning charm over the room that removed most of the dust and cobwebs, but did nothing about the crumpled pieces of paper on the floor, forgotten books on the desks, and rude graffiti written on the walls. He slowly pulled one of the chairs out from a desk and sat down, facing the door and hoping that his mate would walk through.

 

It ended up being almost twenty minutes before the door opened. By that time, Harry had convinced himself that Draco wasn’t coming and seeing the gorgeous blonde standing in the doorway, looking completely wrecked, made him feel lighter than air. 

 

“Draco.” He whispered happily and all but threw himself at the fae, wrapping his arms around the older man’s waist as his newly discovered wings erupted from his back and encircled the both of them with emerald green feathers.  “Merlin, I missed you.” 

 

Without releasing his grip on Draco, Harry drug the blonde further into the room and sat down on the professor’s desk, placing his mate between his knees. He pressed his face against Draco’s shoulder and let out a shuddering sob as relief washed over his body. 

 

“I’m so sorry.” Draco whispered as his hands touched the back of Harry’s head, holding him in place as the dark veela sobbed against him. “I shouldn’t have left, I should have stayed with you.”

 

Draco’s lips touched the top of Harry’s head and the veela relaxed into his mate’s body with a content croon. The skin under Harry’s forehead began to warm and he pulled away to find that swirling markings were now covering the side of Draco’s neck and extended along the side of his face, up into his hairline. The markings were unlike anything he had ever seen and were glowing faintly in the dim light of the classroom. 

 

“What are these?” Harry asked as his wings retracted and he raised one hand to trace his mate’s markings with his fingers. “I’ve never seen them before.”

 

“They’re my fae family markings. Usually I have a good handle on them and can keep them covered, but-”

 

Harry leaned forward and gently placed a kiss on the swirl right under Draco’s jaw. Harry smirked when Draco let out a tiny whimper at the contact, but forced himself to pull away before he was tempted to draw more of those sounds from his mate.

 

He needed to talk with Draco, not molest him.

 

“I’m sorry-” He began, only to be cut off by Draco placing a hand over his mouth. 

 

“No, don’t you dare say you’re sorry.” Draco told him. “I’m sorry. I told you I loved you and I didn’t act like it. It wasn’t your fault that you didn’t feel the same and I should have never have stayed away from you. i wasn’t punishing you, I promise, I just needed time to pull myself together, but then I felt how hurt you were and I-”

 

“You would’t look at me and I waited for hours for you to come to bed.” Harry whispered when Draco paused to take a breath. “I needed you and you weren’t there.”

 

Tears were dripping down the blonde’s cheeks and he carefully cupped Harry’s face as though he thought the veela wasn’t going to let him have that simple touch. “I’m sorry. I was stupid and hurt, but that doesn’t forgive leaving you alone.” Draco carefully kissed Harry’s forehead before placing his forehead against Harry’s with a soft sigh. 

 

“It’s a good thing that I have the fatal flaw of forgiving the people I love, no matter the transgression.” Harry smiled and pressed his hands against Draco’s head to keep their foreheads together when he blonde tried to pull away. 

 

“You don’t have to say it.” Draco whispered. “I’m sorry if my behavior made you think that you did. I will stand beside you and love you for the rest of my life, whether you feel the same or not. Please don’t say things you don’t mean for my sake.”

 

“I’m not.” Harry tilted his head so that his and Draco’s lips met in a soft kiss.  “But if you ever refuse to come to bed again, then I will personally make your life a living hell.”

 

“Agreed.” Draco laughed and claimed his mate’s lips in a rough kiss that had both of him moaning into each other’s mouths. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, I feel like there is so much wrong with this chapter but I just don't have the patience to fix it. Apologies ahead of time, guys.
> 
> Next chapter is going to be from Lucius' point of view and I will state now that there are trigger warnings for torture in that chapter. I will also post a quick warning in next week's notes, but I wanted to warn everyone before they got all excited over a new chapter, just to learn that they don't feel comfortable reading it and have to wait for the next one.


	12. Dream Realm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a torture scene in this chapter. It can be skipped withou missing much.
> 
> Like last time, dreams are separated with ~ symbols

Lucius took the offered drink from Severus with a soft smile and sat down on the couch in the potions master’s living room. “They weren’t at dinner.” Severus said and Lucius nodded silently as he took a sip of the amber liquid in his glass.

“You should have told them that not being seen at all in public is nearly as bad as being seen together in public.”

“Probably.” Lucius agreed slowly. “But I’m sure they’re smart enough to come up with a reasonable excuse for their absence.”

Severus snorted in disbelief as he took his own seat in his chair across the room. “We’ll see.” He pulled a stack of papers across his desk and began grading them. “You’re rather quiet. I would have thought you’d be happier now that you can start pulling down those walls around you. Maybe get a good night’s sleep and go an entire day without taking a nap like an overgrown toddler.”

When Lucius didn’t immediately respond, Severus looked up from his grading and leveled a knowing glare in the blonde’s direction. “Unless, of course, you’re too scared to take it down.”

“I’m not scared, you old bat.”

“You are.” Severus said and there was absolutely no reason for the vampire to look so happy about that. “Not that I blame you, of course. I’d be terrified. What if Draco hurts Harry again? What if he fucks him? Is the wall around your bond going to hold those feelings back or are they going to weasel their way through?”

“Shut up, Severus.” Lucius growled lowly, but the vampire continued on with a near smile on his face.

“Harry’s bond is the one that’s complete, right? He only needed one mate, after all, so he won’t feel anything from you, unless you want him to, but whenever the bond wants to send anything to Draco, it’ll come to you as well. You didn't plan for that, did you? When you made all of your intricate little plans about the lives of your son and mate without asking them, you never considered that you’d form a half-bond with the brat.”

“Don’t call him that.” Lucius sighed, feeling exhaustion set in as Severus spoke. So he hadn’t expected to feel anything from Harry’s side of the bond, that didn’t change anything. He could live with a few extra emotions and if it got bad enough he could always put the wall back up, it wasn’t a problem and it sure as hell wasn’t enough to have him running to Harry like Severus obviously wanted him to do.

“Whenever you claim him as your mate, Lucius, I’ll call him whatever you want me to. Until then, you’re not my keeper.

“You’re a horrible friend.”

“I know.”

Lucius smirked at Severus’ response and finished the last of his drink before standing up. “I’m going to head to bed, thank you oh so much for another riveting night of entertainment.”

“If you want to be entertained, get more friends. If you want to listen to reason and common sense, then you know where I sit at the head table” Severus looked up at Lucius from under his eyelashes for a moment before returning his gaze to his work and flicking his hand to open the door to his chambers. “Leave me.”

Lucius did as he was commanded and left the potions master’s chambers and leisurely walked down the hall to his own. Once he stepped into the small, plain space, he noticed a red piece of parchment lying on the floor of his living space, just inches in front of the fireplace. The sight of it made his blood run cold and he tentatively reached down and brought the missive up to his face with shaking hands.

It was a notice that a summons from the dark lord should be expected in a week’s time. Severus hadn’t mentioned this, which meant that he either hadn’t received the message yet, or he wasn’t invited to this meeting. It was rare for Severus to be excluded, but not unheard of, though the idea of being alone in the Dark Lord’s lair with faulty mental shields and knowledge that could be end of his family name, was enough to have him reaching for the fire whiskey he kept on the coffee table.

**Of fucking course.**

 

_~*Warnings for Torture (But it's mild)*~  
_

  
_Lucius found himself in a dark room, the only light being the fireplace on the far wall. The room was filled with Death Eaters, watching as the Dark Lord, who still looked human at this time, cursed a young man over and over again._

_Blood had pooled under the man’s body, he had already lost both of his hands, one eye, one leg, and had deep cuts covering the rest of his intact body. His screams filled the air and made Lucius nauseous and lightheaded as he got even closer to the horrible scene in front of him._

This was a memory he had never wished to relive.

Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Please, Merlin let me wake up.

_But he didn’t, and his body moved of it’s own accord toward the circle of Death Eaters and a writhing Regulus Black._

_Screams filled the air, pleads for mercy, pain-filled cries, and heartbroken sobs. The sounds didn’t all come from Regulus, who the Dark Lord had just casted a cruio on, most of those screams came from a masked Severus Snape, who was being held at the edge of the circle. He was on his knees, just a few feet from his mate and was fighting valiantly against the Death Eaters holding his arms and the ropes tying him to the floor._

_“You dared to betray me? After everything I’ve done for you?” Regulus was writhing in pain, his eyes closed tight and nothing but tiny whimpers escaping his lips._

_“Please stop! My Lord, please, he’s my mate! I’ll reform him! I swear to you, I’ll do whatever you ask, just let him go!” Severus screamed from behind his mask and Lucius felt tears building in his eyes as he watched his friend go through this for the hundredth time._

_“You’ll do whatever I ask anyway.” The dark wizard reminded him and flicked his wand toward Regulus, slicing open his abdomen and causing his intestines to fall out over the floor and for blood to fill the young man’s mouth._

_“Please.” Severus whispered, breaking one arm free to reach out toward his mate. “Please.”_

_“I love you Lucius.”_

_In that moment, the man in the center of the room changed. It was no longer Regulus Black staring up at Severus with so much love, but Harry staring up at Lucius. Beside Harry, was Draco, the both of them in the same tortured state that Regulus had been in._

_“No!” Lucius moved to reach his mates, but ropes sprang up from the floor to wrap around his ankles and hands held his arms behind his back as the Dark Lord crackled with glee._

_“Traitors don’t deserve mercy.” The Dark Lord said simply and turned his wand to Harry and Draco, who were too tired and in too much pain to flinch; instead, they kept their eyes focused on Lucius, sending the older Malfoy so much love through that one look that it made Lucius’ chest ache._

_“Avada Kedavra.”_

_“Avada Kedavra.”_

 

_~*End of Mild Torture Warning*~_

 

The first night in over a month that Lucius wasn’t forced to maintain shields during the entire night, and he didn’t get another wink of sleep after awaking from that nightmare, in which he witness his son and mate die in the most horrible of ways. It was such a radical turn from the incredible dream he had experienced the night before.

A dream that had kept him awake afterward for a completely different reason.

He haphazardly threw his shields back up for the day as he rolled out of his heavenly bed and stumbled tiredly into his closet to ready himself for the coming classes.

 

-

 

Harry curled himself tightly around Draco when he felt the blonde begin to stir as the instantiate ringing of their alarm sounded through their cocoon of solidarity. Or their bed. Draco preferred calling it their bed.

“We have to get up.” Draco mumbled tiredly and halfheartedly tried to loosen Harry’s hold around his middle. “It’s time for breakfast.”

“It’s time for sleep.” Harry corrected.

“Let go of me, Harry. We can’t stay in bed all night just because you insisted that we stay up all night.”

 _Uh-huh_. Harry was the one that attacked his mate with kisses and fucked him until two o’clock in the morning. Yep, all Harry.

“Blame me for your insatiable needs, arsehole.” Harry whispered and reluctantly pulled himself away from Draco and rolled over onto the "Gryffindor" side of the bed with a huff.

“You are the cause of them.” Draco smirked, sounding far too awake for Harry’s liking. “Now get up, if we’re both late, it’ll look suspicious.”

A soft kiss was pressed to the back of Harry’s neck and the teen smiled sleepily as he reached back to run a hand through his mate’s soft hair. “You go, I’ll come in a few minutes.”

One last kiss, this one pressed to Harry’s jaw, and the teen felt the whoosh of magic as his and Draco’s beds were suddenly separated, followed by the tell-tale clatter of Gryffindor boys changing and scrambling for their materials.

Harry allowed himself a few more moments of rest, before begrudgingly tearing himself away from his warm, comfortable bed and joining his friends in their quest to ready themselves for the morning.

-

In less than ten minutes, Harry was dressed and all of his necessary supplies were tucked safely away in his school bag. He and his friends were discussing the latest racing broom to hit the market which inevitably led to theorizing about the coming tryouts and who would be on each of the four school teams when it was all over.

Harry had just given his top picks for Hufflepuff beaters, when he felt his mate coming up behind him.

_Don’t smile. Don’t smile. Don’t Look. Don’t Look. Act like he’s not there. Act like he’s not there._

Every time he so much as felt a tingle of Draco’s magic, everything inside of him cried out for him to reach out and touch him, hold him, claim him, in front of every single person watching. Holding back that instinct and trying to act like his mate was nothing to him...made him feel as though he was betraying his very nature.

“Good morning, Gentlemen. “ The cool, calculated voice of Lucius Malfoy said smugly as he passed the group of seventh years in the hallway. Harry immediately froze at the sound of the older man’s voice and turned to look behind himself to see if Draco was there, only to find a few strangling Hufflepuff first years chatting loudly amongst themselves.

He had felt his mate...Draco was there, unless…

The nausea from a few nights ago suddenly returned as Harry realized that he had mistaken Lucius for his son for the second time that week. How could be mistake the way that Draco’s magic felt against his skin? No one else, no matter how close they were to Harry, had magic that felt even the least bit like his mate’s.

“Are you alright, Harry?” Dean asked after his group at walked a few more yards before realizing that Harry was still standing frozen in the hallway behind them.

“Fine.” Harry lied, pushing down the sick feeling in his stomach and slowly trudging after his friends.

-

That night, Harry curled up on his side of the bed at eight o’clock like a little first year. He had spent most of his morning worrying over his mistake with the two Malfoys and his afternoon was spent fending off Snape’s usual snarkiness. Exhaustion had set in around noon, now Harry was edging closer to delirious.

He needed his mate, some sleep, and hopefully a few kisses to restore him back to his usual self by the morning.

His eyes slipped closed of their own accord three hours before his mate slipped into bed with him.

~

  
_Harry wasn’t the least bit startled when he awoke to find himself in the black room he had seen only one other time. He was lying in the bed, the same as in the last dream he’d had of this place, only this time, it wasn’t Draco that appeared out of the blackness, but Lucius._

_“Hello Harry.”_

_Lucius stepped closer to the bed and Harry instinctively shuffled away until he was pressed up against the headboard, as far from the blonde as was physically possible in his dream realm._

_“Why are you here? Where’s Draco?”_

_“I don’t know where he is.” Lucius answered softly, walking toward Harry and climbing onto the bed beside him. “But I’m here because you want me to be.”_

_“No! Draco is my mate!” Lucius reached out to touch Harry’s face and he pulled away, snarling at the older man for daring to lay a finger on him when he was mated to someone else._

_“I’m your mate too.” The blonde replied and Harry was so shocked by the statement that he froze long enough for Lucius’ fingers to cup his jaw and pull his face down for a kiss. “Can’t you feel it?” he asked as he pulled away and Harry only shook his head in denial._

_“I only have one mate.” He said, but when Lucius leaned forward to kiss him again, Harry didn’t fight him or pull away. “One mate.” He whispered for a second time when Lucius moved down to begin kissing his neck and naked shoulder._

_Harry tilted his head back to give the older man more room to work and let out a surprised gasp when he was roughly gripped by the hips and pulled down the bed so that he was lying completely under Lucius, his head nestled on the thick pillows behind him._

_“Lucius.” He whispered huskily, every thought of telling the older man to stop, flying from his mind in an instant. The sound of his name, had the blonde looking up from his chosen spot on Harry’s neck and sent a smirk down toward the veela._

_The look reminded him so much of Draco, it was as though he was looking into the future. Without a second thought, Harry reached up and tangled his hands in the long blonde hair falling down around him before pulling the older man down to kiss him soundly._

_With a sudden surge of motivation, Harry flipped their positions so that he was straddling Lucius and pressing him down into the mattress as they kissed. He forced his tongue passed Lucius’ lips and trailed a hand down the man’s face toward his chest, a need to touch every inch of this man, taking hold of him and refusing to release him._

_“What the hell is going on here?”_

_Harry sat straight up, pulling his mouth away from Lucius’ to look over at the “entrance” of the room, where Draco was standing, looking absolutely horrified._

_“Draco!” Harry cried and moved to get off of Lucius, only to have the older man grip him painfully by the hips and force him still. “I can explain!”_

_Draco ran a hand through his hair and began frantically reaching out toward the walls, obviously looking for a door that didn’t exist._

_“I don’t want to hear it, Harry! You’re my mate, you’re supposed to only love me, only want ME! How could you do this? With my own father?!” Draco howled in outrage and disgust as his fingers pulled at his hair in frustration._

_Tears were burning in Harry’s eyes as he watched his mate so hurt and desperate to leave his presence. He reached out toward Draco and blinked in amazement when his hands made contact with the blonde who was standing ten feet away. It wasn’t that his arms had stretched that far necessarily, but more that the room had folded in on itself to bring the two of them closer together._

_“I love you so much.” Harry whispered and pulled Draco down to kiss him, never mind the fact that he was sitting on his mate’s father’s lap and sporting an erection that had never died despite the drama going on around him._

_Draco melted into Harry’s touch and climbed up onto the bed to kneel next to his father as he kissed his mate roughly, thrusting his tongue into the veela’s mouth, claiming every inch of the cavern for himself. Lucius’ hands stroked up and down Harry’s thighs, until they finally settled on wrapping around his cock, tearing a deep groan from Harry’s throat. The sound startled Draco and he tore himself away from Harry to look down at his father, who had been staring at the mates with lust blown eyes._

_“If you love me, why would you do this?” Draco asked softly, though his hands never left Harry’s body._

_Harry couldn’t verbalize an answer, he couldn’t for the life of him come up with a reason for why he had given into the older man so easily. He did love Draco, but there was something pulling him toward Lucius and no matter what his conscience told him, he wanted the older man._

_“I don’t know.” Harry replied honestly and pressed his forehead against Draco’s. “But this is a dream and I’m going to enjoy this while it lasts.” He pressed a quick kiss to Draco’s mouth and turned his gaze to Lucius before leaning down and kissing him deeply._

_A hand forced his head down and made it impossible for him to pull away from the elder fae and Harry let out a soft moan in contentment before reaching back and lining up Lucius’ cock with his entrance, which was already stretched and lubricated, and pushed himself back onto the length._

_“Merlin that’s gorgeous.” Draco whispered into Harry’s ear, sending a shiver down his spine as he worked himself away from Lucius to see Draco lying on his side next to Harry and Lucius, his eyes scanning over the two men with obvious want._

_Harry smirked over at his mate before reaching over to drag him closer until he was half lying ontop of Lucius, making it far more convient to kiss him soundly while Lucius gripped his hips in a bruising grip and lifted Harry off his lap and dropped him back down, earning him a loud moan from the teen who was still trying his damnest to devour his mate’s tongue._

_“My god.” Harry threw his head back in a deep groan that ended with a sharp scream as Lucius thrusted into him again and again. Lucius smirked up at him, before stilling Harry’s movements with a tight grip and flipping Harry over onto his back in one smooth motion that had Harry’s head swimming and effectively nestled the older man even deeper inside of him._

_Lucius set a punishing pace, thrusting into Harry with so much force that the teen raised a single hand to press it against the headboard to keep him from sliding up the bed with every thrust._

_A pair of lips appeared on Harry’s cheek, kissing over his face, jaw, and then his neck before tracing back up again. The sensation had Harry opening his eyes and staring blearily over at Draco who was trying to work a mark onto Harry’s neck. The sight of the blonde head on one side and Lucius’ smirking face above him, sparked an idea in Harry and before he could think better of it, he reached over and took a handful of Draco’s hair and roughly dragged his face up._

_Harry kissed him lightly, his breath coming in panting gasps against the other teen’s lips, before pulling away and turning Draco’s face toward his father’s._

_Both Malfoys stared down at Harry as though he had just asked them to jump off a cliff without a broom, and for a heart stopping moment Harry believed that he had effectively screwed up his entire dream, which had just started to go well. After a moment of uncertainty, Draco gripped his father’s face in both of his hands and pressed their mouths together harshly._

_Harry watched him a daze, his body shaking with pleasure, and his mind completely enraptured by the sight of father and son, two beautiful blondes, kissing just inches above him. They were pulling at each other’s hair, gripping their shoulders, and growling softly as they fought for dominance of the kiss._

_The sight had Harry surging up and pressing his lips against the side of the mens’ and release his own growl that had both men stilling, allowing Harry to delve into each of their mouths and release them with a rough nip to their bottom lips. He was the one in control here, he was the dominant member of his relationship, and this was his dream dammit._

_There would be no fighting if he could help it._

_“You’re both beautiful boys.” Harry laughed, the sound cut off by a loud moan when Lucius slammed into his prostate, making Harry see stars. “Let me turn over.” He gasped out and for a moment he thought Lucius wasn’t going to listen to him, but after a few more thrusts, the man released a sigh before pulling out of Harry long enough for the teen to turn himself over onto his hands a knees, before slamming back in, sending Harry collapsing onto his stomach as a pleasured scream tore itself from his throat._

_“Come here, Draco.” Harry ordered as Lucius hands gripped into his hips, more than likely leaving bruises in the wake of his fingers._

_Obediently, Draco crawled over toward Harry and without warning, he engulfed Draco’s cock in his mouth and whimpered lightly at the sensation of being so completely filled._

_“Oh Harry.” Draco moaned, his fingers carding through Harry’s hair as he licked and suckled at his cock. “I love you.”_

_I love you too. Harry said silently, his throat otherwise occupied. I love you both._

~

When Harry awoke, he was wrapped around Draco, who was whimpering softly in his sleep, and every ounce of guilt that he had felt that morning, came crashing back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was that okay?


	13. All That Mattered

“Are you alright?” Draco asked as he carefully swung his club, striking the light blue ball in front of him and shooting it under the wind mill and into the shallow pocket beyond. “You’ve been acting really odd the last few days. Are you regretting something that we did?”

 

He straightened up with a smirk to look at Harry who calmly marked Draco’s score on the scrap of parchment in his grip, paying no attention to the fact that he was twenty points behind...or rather ahead...mini golf was confusing...either way he was losing.

 

“No! I’m very happy with everything.” Harry replied honestly. There wasn’t a single thing that Draco and he had done together that Harry hadn’t loved. “It’s not that, I just have a lot on my mind.”

 

Like memories of you making out with your father as he fucked me.

 

“Well put it out of your mind or talk to me about it.” Draco said and wrapped an arm around Harry’s waist as he pulled the younger teen against him and kissed the top of his head gently. “I don’t like that you’re not acting like yourself.”

 

“Because you like me.” Harry laughed, “Sappy Little Slytherin.” He pressed his lips against Draco’s before pulling away and lining up his own shot on the next hole that the Room of Requirement had set up for them. When he had asked for a place to have some fun with Draco, mini golf wasn’t what he expected, but he was making do.

 

“You like me sappy.” Draco’s hand reached over to cup Harry’s arse and Harry slapped the offending limb away. He  was going to win this stupid game and he wasn’t going to let Draco’s roaming fingers stop him.

 

“I said that I liked you _sticky_. Big difference, dear.”

 

“Perv.”

 

“Arsehole.” Harry swung and released a hissed curse as the green ball hit one of the walls on the track which sent the ball flying back toward, and past, the original starting point.

 

“Nice shot.” Draco laughed and wrapped his arms around Harry’s waist to press his face against the side of Harry’s neck. “Do you need me to help you like in all of those muggle films?”

 

Draco’s hands gripped the club and Harry’s fingers and lined up a shot as Harry rolled his eyes up toward the ceiling in irritation. With an easy, gentle swing of the club, Draco sent the ball rolling down the track at just the right angle to prevent hitting the walls until the perfect moment, allowing it to bounce across the open space and straight into the hole.

 

“See, it’s that easy.”

 

Harry was not going to strangle his mate. He was not going to strangle the gorgeous blonde. Harry was not going to kill the man he loved. Nope.

 

“You’re bragging right now.” Harry told him calmly and motioned for Draco to take his turn at the next hole. “You find one thing you’re good at and you become insufferable.”

 

“Oh, big words.” Draco laughed as he wiggled his bottom while lining up his next shot. “And I’m good at everything, Potter, that’s what makes me perfect.”

 

“A perfect pain in my arse.” Harry growled and the sound made Draco jump enough that his ball went soaring right past it’s target, into the wall on the opposite side causing it to roll leisurely until it came to a stop on the bottom of a steep slope three feet away from the hole.

 

“I thought you said it was easy?”

 

“Shut up. You distracted me.”

 

“Yes, with a single sentence.” Harry smirked and watched as Draco turned to glare at him, his fae markings appearing on the side of his neck. Usually they were a light blue, almost silver, but Harry had started to realize that they changed color depending on Draco’s mood. At the moment they were a dark crimson, which Harry had associated with annoyance.

 

The fae took a deep breath and the markings disappeared as he exhaled and marched confidently toward his ball. Without sparing Harry a second glance, he lined up his shot and swung, forcing the ball up into the air. It landed at the top of the slope, rolled into wall and was sling-shotted into the hole.

 

No. The blonde had to be using some sort of magic to do that, there was no way he was that good during his first game.

 

“You’re up, dear.” Draco strolled back over to Harry with a pleased smirk on his face and bumped his hip against his mate’s in greeting. “Just let me know if you need help.”

 

Harry sighed as he marched over to the course and eyed his intended path warily. There was no way he was getting through the maze of walls and slopes in less than two shots. No way no how.

 

“Anything interesting happening in Gryffindor House?” Draco asked conversationally, obviously aware that he had won this hole as well as the game, and knowing his attempt to start a conversation would only serve to distract and annoy his mate.

  


“Going to tell all of your snakes everything I say and use it against us later?” Shot one moved Harry approximately three inches. Four feet left to go.

 

“Of course not! Not only are my most of my associates staying clear of me as of late, but also, I would never use our relationship against the Gryffindors like that.”

 

“Bullshit.” Three feet left to go.

 

“I’m hurt, Harry.”

 

“You should be.” One foot left, of course, it was completely downhill, so the tiniest error in strength behind his swing could end up with him in a worse place than where he started.

 

“I’m only asking about your friends because they’re important to you. I promise not to reveal sensitive information to any third parties.”

 

Harry took in a shuttering breath and gently knocked the ball forward. Thankfully, it sank into the hole easily and Harry sighed out in relief.

 

“Fine, if you must know, you little toad, then Neville is currently dating Dean Thomas, Ron accidentally told Hermione that ancient runes was a worthless subject, so they’re not on speaking terms for today, and Lavender Brown somehow managed to break her ankle walking up stairs so she’s in the hospital wing until Madam Promfrey can mend it.”

 

Harry dug his ball out of the pocket and turned around to face a confused Draco, who was magically spinning his ball three inches above his right hand as he scrunched his eyebrows together in thought.

 

“Could have sworn you told me Thomas was straight.” He finally said, causing Harry to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the accusatory look on his mate’s face. “Did you lie to me, Potter?”

 

“We thought he was.” Harry replied with a chuckle and Draco’s ball fell into his hand as a playful smile pulled at his lips.

 

“Juicy. Give me details, mate!” He thundered and turned to start his turn on the final hole, a monstrosity of a thing with waterfalls, real sand traps, slopes, castles, and a fire-breathing-dragon-statue.

 

“You have to promise not tell anyone, including Neville and Dean, that I told you this.”

 

“But Harry-” Draco whined sarcastically as he took his first shot, somehow managing to avoid every trap on the near end of the course. “-what will Longbottom and I talk about during our weekly slumber parties? Braiding hair in silence is awkward, so we fill it with talk of our fellas.”

 

Draco popped his hip out to the side dramatically, at the same time taking his second swing and landing his ball firmly in the pocket.

 

“I think I preferred you when you were the ice prince that struck fear into the hearts of demons.” Because Sassy Draco was Annoying Draco.

 

“Were, Potter?” Draco asked as he straightened himself up to his full height and turned so Harry could see the emotionless void that was on his handsome face. “Are you foolish enough to assume that just because I laugh and joke with you, that makes me less cold and calculating than before?” Everything about Draco suddenly changed, his posture was now stiff and proper, every step he took toward Harry was calculated and controlled.

 

It shouldn’t have turned Harry on in least.

 

“There are a thousand and one sides to me, Potter.” He leaned in close to Harry, their eyes locking as the fae pressed his forehead against his mate’s. “Waiting to be revealed at the perfect moment. “

 

A shiver of desire traveled down Harry’s spine and he closed the space between them to press their lips together roughly. Draco allowed the kiss for a moment, before pulling away and smiling warmly down at Harry.

 

“Interesting.” He laughed and bodily turned Harry toward the final course and slapped his arse playfully. “I’ll keep your preferences in mind, now go bag me my victory.”

 

“I could make a miraculous come back, you know.”

 

Draco simply raised a platinum eyebrow and gently pulled the score sheet out of Harry’s pocket.

 

“Unless you somehow management to sink this hole in -23 shots, then I think I’m the victor.”

 

“I don’t appreciate your negativity.” Harry chuckled as he causally lined up his club and swung.

 

He never saw where the ball went. He wouldn’t discover his final score. He didn’t hear Draco screaming his name as he fell to the ground, clutching at his heart as white hot pain tore through his body.

 

-

 

“You mean to tell me that you’ve been watching Draco for two weeks and you have no theories as to the identity of your son’s mate?” Voldemort snarled as he held a thrashing Lucius Malfoy under the cruciatious curse. The blonde had been suffering under the spell for nearly an hour now and Voldemort kept asking him the same questions over and over again as though expecting him to suddenly reveal a vital piece of information.

 

“No, my lord.” Lucius whimpered, his eyes closed tightly to keep from looking up at the monstrous face of the dark lord and the cold eyes of the gathered death eaters that were watching his torture without batting an eyelash.

 

“Parkinson, Goyle, Crabb.” Voldemort hissed and Lucius cracked open his eyes to see three figures step forward, it was clear from their stature that they were the children of their respective families and not the heads and Lucius silently cursed his situation and prayed that Draco had been covering his tracks well.

 

“Have either of you discovered anything of worth? You’re with young Malfoy every day, is there anyone he’s spending more time with than usual?”

 

“No, milord.” Parkinson whispered after several minutes of silence between the three of them. “He’s been acting like his usual self, he hasn’t even disassociated with the members of Slytherin House he knows to be affiliated with you, sire.”

 

“You raised a clever boy, Lucius.” Voldemort smiled down at Lucius and the cruciatious intensified ten fold and Lucius dreaded what was to come next. “You must be proud that he takes after you.”

 

He knows. Lucius’ eyes shut once again as a new round of curses began and all the blonde could think about was how the Dark Lord had discovered his secret. It was even more tightly held than Draco’s and Harry’s, there were only three people left in the entire world that knew of it. Lucius most certainly hadn’t said a word and Severus would die before he betrayed a loved one to the Dark Lord, so that left his wife.

 

“Narcissa?” Voldemort said calmly and Lucius clenched his eyes shut even further, he didn’t want to see that bitch. Everything he had done for her, everything that he had given her, and she would betray both he and her son like this. “Why don’t you tell Lucius what you told me?”

 

The crucio curse lifted and Lucius slumped down onto the cement floor, just as he felt another person kneel down beside him. “Look at me, dear.” Long, elegant fingers clenched around Lucius’ chin and he weakly opened his eyes to see Narcissa smiling down at him.

 

“I told him everything. I told him about the Hominium Eodium you gave me when you weren’t man enough to sire a true child on me. How you lied to me during the entire pregnancy, never saying a word about Draco not really being my child. How I had to find out from the mediwitch that wrote his birth certificate that he was a clone of you.” Narcissa’s long talon-like nails dug into the flesh of Lucius’ neck and her eyes narrowed dangerously before she spoke again.

 

“Creature clones have the same mates, don’t they? So you lied a hundred times to our Lord when you said you didn’t know who Draco was mated to.”

 

She doesn’t know about Harry. Lucius thought to himself as he relaxed against his wife’s grip. If she knew, then that would have been the first thing she threw in his face, but she didn’t, so that meant that Harry and for the time being, Draco, were safe.

 

His boys were safe, that’s all that mattered.

 

“I don’t know anything about Draco’s mate.” Lucius gasped, blood dripping from his mouth as it turned upward into a smile. “I have no idea who it is.”

 

“Crucio.” Narcissa screamed and Lucius was a tad surprised that the Dark Lord didn’t immediately curse her for daring to intervene on his torture session.  “Tell us and we might not have to kill Draco.”

 

Lucius didn’t say a word, his silence saying plenty to the Dark Lord and Narcissa as well as the other gathered Death Eaters.

 

“Then I will personally insure that the Malfoy line ends.” Voldemort growled.

 

Harry and Draco would protect each other and there were a thousand others that would sacrifice their lives to protect Harry and his mate. Those two would be fine. Lucius could at least die knowing his son and his mate were safe. It was best for everyone if he wasn’t a part of their lives, he’d managed to screw his own up rather spectacularly after all.

 

“Just do it.” he whispered, ready to hear the killing curse echo through the room, ready to end the pain he’d been suffering from for months.

 

“Oh no.” Voldemort laughed, the excitement in the man’s voice, sending waves of cold dread through Lucius’ body. “I’m going to make you suffer first.”


	14. Dead, Worthless Heroes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very mild torture at the end of this chapter. I mean...really mild. Thank you again for all the love this story has been getting, it really does a heart good to know so many people actually read and enjoy this crazy thing.

“ Harry!” A voice called out, the sound muffled and seemingly miles away from the darkness Harry found himself in. “Harry!”

There was a sharp, familiar pain in the center of Harry’s chest and he instinctively reached out toward it with his magic only to pull back in surprise and fear when Voldemort’s voice rang through the dark place he was in.

“I’m going to make you suffer first.”

Why was he in so much pain? What did Voldemort have to do with it? These were questions that Harry asked himself as the muffled shouts continued around him. There was something extremely familiar about this pain and something within him wouldn’t let the mystery drop without finding out what was happening to him.

Carefully this time, Harry ran his magic over the pain he was feeling, only to notice that it was a long, thin thread that extended from Harry’s chest and off into the darkness. He had felt a similar thread before and went looking for it, only to find it nestled right beside the one currently sending white hot pain flooding Harry’s body.

But what is it?

He reached out toward both threads and froze when he remembered what they were and who they belonged to. That wasn’t possible. He couldn’t be...even as the words of denial appeared in his mind, Harry knew the truth.

Harry bolted straight up in the bed he was lying in and spared his surroundings a curtesy glance before turning his attention to a teary Draco, a concerned pair of best friends, and a twinkling Dumbledore.

“My mate is in pain.” Harry gasped out clutching at his chest as each word left his mouth. Ron and Hermione both turned to Draco, whose eyes were filled with confusion as he stared down at Harry and gripped his hand hard enough to bruise.

“Harry, I’m fine. You were the one that was in pain, Tiger.” A hiccuping sob tore itself from Draco’s mouth and leaned forward to press his face against Harry’s shirt. The veela cradled him against his chest protectively, even as his eyes met Dumbledore who nodded in understanding.

So he had known.

“It’s Lucius.” Harry said calmly and when Draco tried to lift his head in surprise, Harry physically kept his face pushed against Harry’s now damp t-shirt. “He’s being tortured by Voldemort right now, has been for a while too if I’m reading the bond right.”

“How do you know that, Harry?” Hermione asked and once again, Draco tried to pull away from the veela, only to be held down and his words muffled against Harry’s chest. 

“It’s complicated, Miss Granger and now is not the time to explain it. Harry, can you tell me where Lucius is right now? Are you sure he’s still alive?”

“He’s still alive, now that I know what to look for, I can feel his bond as clearly as I do Draco’s.” Just then, Draco stopped fighting Harry’s hold and collapsed against him, realization having struck hard and fast.  “As for his location, I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but I believe it's somewhere is northern England."

Dumbledore's mouth thinned into a grim line and his eyes lost just a touch of their trademarked sparkle as he heaved out a sigh of understanding and exhaustion. “I’ll ready the order and mount a rescue mission, I won't let him be taken from you, Harry.”

A heart breaking sob came from Harry’s chest and he looked down to see Draco shaking uncontrollably as he cried against his mate, pulling at his shirt and releasing whimpering screams that made Harry feel like the pile of shit that he was.

“What’s going on?” Hermione asked, frantically looking between the three men, trying to decipher what had Draco and Dumbledore acting so strangely.

Dumbledore turned on his heel and left the room without making a sound, leaving Harry to explain to his friends why his mate was sobbing and what had prompted his fainting spell. 

The bastard.

“I have a mate bond to Lucius.” Harry said softly as he hugged Draco closer until the blonde threw all cares to the wind and climbed into bed with his mate, pressing his entire body against Harry’s.  “I don’t know how or why. I never felt it before now,  but there’s no mistaking it now that it’s there.”

Hermione and Ron stared at Harry is surprise, their mouths hanging open and their eyes three times larger than normal. It would have been comical if Draco wasn’t still crying and if Harry’s heart didn’t feel as though it had been put through the wringer.

“Does that mean that you and-“ Ron nodded toward Draco with a grimace, “-aren’t actually-“

“Stop.” Harry interrupted, having felt the way that Ron’s words were making Draco tense up even further until he was doing a rather fine interpretation of a wooden board. “Of course I’m still bound to Draco, he’s my mate and nothing is ever going to change that.” He hugged said mate a little tighter and was rewarded with the blonde’s body relaxing ever so slightly against him and for the sobs to quiet down into hiccuping whimpers.

“It’s just that now I have this bond to Lucius as well, but it doesn’t feel new, it feels like it’s always been there and I’m just now able to feel it for some reason. But that doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does if he was purposely blocking out the bond.” Draco whispered as he pulled his face away from Harry’s chest and rearranged himself so that he was sitting beside his mate and was leaning heavily against his side instead of his front.

“Would he be able to do that for two months, though?” Hermione asked while she took a seat in one of the empty chairs and motioned for Ron to sit beside her. “From what you and Harry were telling me, you could barely block the bond out enough to keep from jumping each other and that was only for a day.  How much power would it take to block it out so completely that Harry couldn’t even feel it until now?”

“A lot.” Harry answered before Draco could. He didn’t know the exact amount of magic that Lucius had to have been using, but from experience, he knew it had to have been astronomical.

“So descriptive, Potter.” Draco sighed, “but you’re correct, it would be a lot.  Enough that it makes it hard to believe he was able to walk, let alone teach a DADA class and maintain his occlumency shields.

“Why would he do that though?” Ron asked, “No offense, Malfoy, but your father isn’t the selfless type, why would he use up that much magic and put himself at risk instead of going to Harry at the same time you did?” The moment the words left Ron’s mouth,  a disgusted look crossed his freckled face as the thought of Lucius Malfoy and his best friend raced to the forefront of his mind.

“I don’t know.” Draco replied softly and he leaned his head against Harry’s shoulder, prompting Harry to wrap an arm around the blonde’s waist.

“When he arrives we can ask him.” Harry said as he nuzzled the top of Draco’s head, keeping his eyes focused on his best friends who didn’t look the least bit affected by the show of affection. “Speculating over his motivations will get us nowhere.”

“So you do what to talk to him about this, though?” Hermione asked and Harry looked at her as though she was insane for even considering that he wouldn’t. “What? Everything I’ve read about Dark Veela state that they only have one mate, I didn’t think you’d want a second.”

“I don’t.” Harry said slowly, trying to put all of his feelings on the matter in order. “But I can feel the bond between us, it’s not the same as it was with Draco, I’m not being pulled to him, but I can feel him all the same.  I need to know why the bond is there and what he plans to do about it.”

Hermione smiled proudly at Harry and the teen had the feeling that she was testing him…

“You’re not going to mate with him too, are you?” Ron asked and Draco stilled, shaking in fear like a scared cat hiding under a bed. “I mean two mates is one thing, I could definitely get behind something like that, but two Malfoys…”

He should have said no. He should have said that there was no way in hell that he was going to mate with Lucius when he had Draco by his side.  He should have said that he didn’t need a second mate.

But the memories of the dozens of dreams he’d had of the older man played through his mind. The unmistakable feeling of “mate” that rushed through him when Lucius appeared when Draco wasn’t around raced up his arms, leaving gooseflesh in it’s wake.

He loved Draco desperately, but it seemed he couldn’t bring himself not to hurt him.

“I don’t know, Ron.” He replied and tried to ignore the way that Draco froze against him before he burrowed his head into Harry’s shoulder.  “A lot is going through my mind all at once, I can barely think straight, let alone make a life changing decision like that.”

_ Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me. _

It wasn’t the words necessarily that came through Draco and Harry’s bond, but it was the sentiment that clutched at Harry’s heart and in turn, made him clutch to Draco and silently send his own feelings back to the blonde.

_ Never. _

-

Bellatrix was leaning over Lucius a wicked smile on her deranged face as she slowly drug the silver knife down Lucius’ chest, leaving behind a thin trail of blood that joined the dozens of others that had already dried. It had been almost an hour since this torture had begun, every inch of the fae’s skin was covered in criss-crossing marks and each new one tore a cheer from the group of death eaters watching them.  

“Come on, Lucy.” Bellatrix taunted, her eyes sliding over to the Dark Lord, who was sitting on his throne looking thoroughly amused, before locking onto Lucius’ grey, pain-filled orbs. “Show me those pretty markings of yours. It’s said that they appear when a fae is under distress, but I’ve been distressing you for an hour and you’ve kept them all covered up.”

The woman carved a deep line down the side of Lucius’ throat, causing him to cry out in agony and to pull against the bonds keeping spread out under the witch’s touch. If it had been anyone else that had made the cut, he would have assumed the cut was a life-ending blow, but Bellatrix was a master of torture and he had no doubts that the cut failed to hit anything vital and only caused excruciating pain.

“They’re not for your eyes.” Lucius hissed out, fighting back the urge to spit in the woman’s face, which was his only attack option at the moment.  He was a pureblood and he would act like it until the very end.

“But it must be so tiring to keep them hidden while keeping your occlumency shields up at the same time. One of them is going to have to drop, Lucy.”

No. Neither would fall, he would die first. Fae markings were meant to only be shown to other Fae during fights of dominance or a Fae’s mate as a show of emotion. Otherwise it was a slight to a Fae’s honor to have them exposed for the world to see. It was the equivalent of allowing anyone with eyes to view your pensieve.

“You obviously underestimate my power.” Lucius snarled, but forced himself to relax against his bonds as he awaited the torture to come.

“I could gut you where you lay, Malfoy.” The witch hissed lowly, leaning over the blonde until their faces were only inches apart. “Or I can remove every square inch of skin from your body over the course of the entire night and time how long it takes for that power of yours to finally run out.”

“Sounds like a pleasant evening.” Lucius whispered as he closed his eyes, just to annoy his torturer. If he was going to die then he was going to make everyone around him miserable at the same time.

“Bella.” The Dark Lord said softly, his words coming out in a hiss that send fear through every nerve in Lucius’ body. “You might want to move this along a little. Physical pain obviously isn’t doing much for our strong Mister Malfoy, here.”

“Obviously.” Bellatrix laughed and Lucius slowly opened a single eye to see the witch replace the knife in its holster and pulled her wand out instead. “Maratarious.” She squealed in glee.

Images flashed before Lucius’ eyes. Images of Harry laying dead and torn to pieces at his feet, Draco staring sightlessly up at the sky, Severus covered in blood and lying atop a mound of bones and corpses.  Hundreds more flashed through his mind, all of them showing the few people he cared for, dead or dying in the most horrible of ways.

Lucius screamed until his throat was raw and sore, though he never once pleaded with Bellatrix to stop, never lost the last bit of honor he desperately clung to.

Once the last image disappeared, Lucius realized that while he had been writhing under the madwoman’s curse, she had continued carving into him. Now, he was covered in his own blood and he was hard pressed to find a single area of skin that hadn’t been sliced open. Even the skin between his toes had suffered extraordinarily painful cuts.

“I can keep this up for days.” Bellatrix crackled with glee. “Can you?”

_ Certainly. _

He was just opening his cracked lips to tell the craziest Black this, when a thunderous boom echoed through the manor and series of tremors rocked the very foundation.

“Find them.” The Dark Lord snarled as he stood from his throne and pointed toward the ball room entrance. “No survivors or you’ll all face my wrath.”

In a clamor of bodies, the death eaters filed out of the room, leaving Lucius alone with the Dark Lord as booms, crashes, and screams echoed around them. He was still tied down to the floor and the Dark Lord calmly walked toward him, his head high and his wand twirling delicately through his skeletal fingers.

“You’ve been a very naughty boy.” He hissed, kneeling down next to Lucius with a smirk on his face. “I take it that the rescue team is the Order of the Pheonix? So not only were you a liar but a spy as well? Unless your mate is an order member…” Lucius didn’t flinch, he was battle hardened and well trained to let nothing through his mask, but the Dark Lord seemed to discover the answer he wanted anyway.

“Hmmm, perhaps it's both?” Those pale fingers reached out and roughly griped Lucius by the hair, forcing his head back and exposing his throat and forcing Lucius’ eyes to his.

“When I’ve killed every last one of them, I’ll lay them at your feet. Prehaps you’ll get to see your mate one last time before you die.”

He released his hold on Lucius and stood before confidently striding out of the room, his robes flowing ominously behind him. 

_ They wouldn’t have been stupid enough to bring Harry and Draco, right?  _  Lucius asked himself,  _ Then again, they were stupid enough to come for you in the first place, so who's to say? _

“Just leave.” Lucius whispered into the empty room, his eyes locked onto the ceiling above him. “Save yourselves and leave.”

“Playing the martyr now?” A smooth, velvety voice asked and Lucius turned his head to see Severus Snape striding towards him, having portkeyed into the room. 

“You have delicate information, Malfoy. If we leave you here, there’s a chance you’ll reveal those secrets. There’s also the little tidbit that you dropped your bond shields about an hour ago and Potter will be heartbroken to hear his second mate has died so tragically. Heartbroken heroes are dead, worthless heroes afterall.”

With a wave of his wand, the ropes binding Lucius to the floor, released and Lucius scrambled to his feet, only to slump into a waiting Severus when the pain and blood loss suddenly hit him full force, causing the room to spin dangerously.

“I didn’t want him to find out like this.” Lucius whispered, so tired all of the sudden that he could barely keep his eyes open and he was now relying solely on Severus to support him.

“You didn’t want him to find out at all. Be thankful that this is how it happened, since it’s because of him that we even knew you were in trouble. You’d be dead if it wasn’t for that boy.”

Severus clutched at Lucius, holding him tightly for a moment before he apparited away from Riddle Manor with a loud crack.


	15. A Normal Mateship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I'm an asshole. Honestly, I completely forgot to add this last Saturday because of work and family stuff going on that day and I kept forgetting to upload this throughout the week and pushing it off for another day because if there is one thing that I can be called, it's most certainly lazy. Which was rather horrible of me since everyone said such nice things about the last chapter and I know how you all were excited to see what happened...
> 
> But it's here! Finally!

When Lucius awoke, he was lying in the Hogwarts Hospital wing and his nose twitched in disgust at the smell of the healing paste plastered all over his body to heal his wounds. There was also the distinct metallic aftertaste of a blood replenishment potion still in his mouth and he estimated that he’d only been lying there for an hour at most.  

“How are you feeling, father?” Draco’s voice asked softly and Lucius closed his eyes and released a soft sigh. If Harry knew about the bond, then Draco did too and yet he was still sitting by his bedside waiting for him to wake up. He didn’t deserve that boy for a son.

“Satisfactory.” Lucius replied and hesitantly reopened his eyes to see both Harry and Draco sitting in the plastic chairs next to his bed and that the curtains around the three of them had been completely drawn closed.

He should have stayed asleep.

“Severus told me that you realized our bond, Mr. Potter.” Lucius said calmly, “Would you accept my word that we can talk about this at a later time?” Because he damn sure didn’t want to talk about his mateship when he was in too much pain to move or defend himself.

“I would.” Harry said with a nod of his head and a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His eyes were shining and shimmering in the low light of the hospital wing and they were staring down at his face with…an emotion that Lucius couldn’t fully name.

Relief? Happiness? Pity?

_ Maybe it was all three. _

“If it wasn’t for the fact that you’ve been lying to me for two months.” The words were said so calmly, without any hint of anger, that it shocked Lucius into silence and he simply stared up at the veela in surprise. 

“I’ve been tortured all night, Potter. Do me the service of allowing me a full night’s sleep before interrogating me.”

“Harry is just as tired and in just as much pain as you, except there are no potions on Earth that can heal phantom bond pain, you however, have gotten a full round of extra strength pain relievers, so I think you can answer a few questions.” Draco stated matter of fact, reaching forward to grip Lucius’ hand and send him a sickeningly sweet, condescending smile.

No one could say that he didn’t raise the kid well.

“What do you want to know?”

Draco’s smile faded, every scrap of emotion on his face faded away, leaving the cold Malfoy mask in place. Lucius had seen it before of course, hell, he had taught the boy that look, but having the expression turned toward him, every ounce of affection he had for this father having been washed away, flooded him with fear and guilt in equal measure.  The thin, delicate hand that was cradling his, suddenly tightened and the manicured fingernails lengthened ever so slightly as they dug into the flesh of Lucius’ palm.

He bit his lip to keep from making a noise at the pain and reeled back from Draco in surprise when he noticed that his son’s fae markings were a bright firetruck red, indicative of extreme anger. Extreme anger that was now being turned toward him.

“How about we start with how the fuck you have a bond with MY MATE?” Draco was leaning over Lucius now, like a predator about to pounce and Lucius could feel his own Fae markings appear along the surface of his skin in a show of surrender. The last thing he wanted to do at the moment was get into a dominance battle with his own son over their shared mate after being tortured for nearly three hours straight.

No thank you.

“It’s complicated.” Lucius began, his voice breaking ever so slightly when Draco’s hand tightened even further around his.  “And it’s a long story, I can tell you, but you need to relax.” His eyes slid over to Harry, who was watching the two men in wide eyed surprise, and silently begged for the veela to control his mate.

“Dray, let him go.” Harry said softly, as he reached across Draco to detangle their hands before pulling the glaring teen against his side.  “If you want to hear the answer, then you need to calm down and let him speak.”

Draco looked far from happy about being pulled away from Lucius, but he didn’t move away from Harry’s grip and instead tucked himself even tighter against the veela’s side and curled an arm around Harry’s middle possessively, his eyes never leaving Lucius.

Though no words left his mouth, it was very clear as to what the younger fae was trying to project.

_ My mate, not yours. _

“Like you both, I came into my Fae inheritance when I was seventeen.” Lucius began, hoping that by starting at the beginning he’d be able to fully explain not only what had happened, but why he had done it as well.

“I had read everything about mates and I wanted one so desperately. The day I graduated Hogwarts I traveled all over the world searching for my mate but after three years, my father called me home. He wasn’t a Fae, the blood had come from my mother’s side, and he didn’t know a thing about mates and he was tired of me shrugging off my responsibilities to the family. He arranged for me to marry Narcissa Black, whom I knew wasn’t my mate, yet despite the fact that I refused, I was married against my will.”

Harry’s eyebrows drew together in confusion and Lucius took in a single, soothing breath before diverting his attention to his own hands as he explained.

“In pureblood families, the only member of the family with any power is the head and legally they own every other member. They can marry them off, sell them, or even kill them without repercussions. “

“That’s barbaric.” Harry whispered and Lucius could only nod in agreement as he tried to consider how to word the next portion of his story. Draco was still staring at him coldly and he knew that all it would take is a single misspoken word for the other Fae to either jump to conclusions or just jump Lucius.

“My marriage was fine, I assume. We didn’t love nor hate each other, but as I’m sure you both know, it’s impossible for Fae to have children with someone that isn’t their mate. This was something that my father refused to believe and he pushed us daily to conceive, threatened us with both bodily and financial harm. Narcissa was frantic and I was terrified of my father like the stupid twenty year old I was.

“There was only one way to have a child and that was with the use of the Hominium Eodiem potion.”

Draco wasn’t stupid and he had been reading potions journals since he was old enough to know what a potion was. Of course he knew what potion Lucius was talking about and every muscle in his body froze and his hold on Harry tightened until the veela was staring at him with pain his green eyes.

“The potion clones whichever parent provides the genetic material and since I needed a male heir, it was my decision to clone myself. I knew of this potion from a family journal that detailed its use by one of my ancestors, so I was aware that the clone of a Fae would have the same mate as the original. At the time I didn’t know if I would live through the first war or if I even had a mate out there for me, so that fact was inconsequential. If by chance I ever did find my mate I knew that I would step aside for my son. Afterall, he had no choice in his creation, why should my decision affect his chances with his mate?”

Both of the boys were staring at him, Harry in confusion, and Draco with so much hurt in his gaze that Lucius was forced to look away from his silver orbs.

This is why he didn’t want to say anything, the only thing this confession had done was cause his son, the only person in the world that he loved (other than Severus, but tell no one of Lucius’ hidden feelings), pain.

“So Draco is a clone of you and since you’re my mate, so is he? Why didn’t I feel anything from you? Why didn’t you tell me? Didn’t I have the right to know who my mate was?” Harry asked, detangling himself from Draco’s hold and standing up to glare down at Lucius harshly.

“I wanted you and Draco to have a normal mateship. It wouldn’t have been fair to either of you to say anything.”

“Nothing was going to make it a normal mateship, Lucius!” Harry growled, the sound causing Draco to tense up in his seat before reaching out a hand and gripping his mate’s hand. “Draco and I hated each other until my birthday! We have Voldemort watching our every move! Don’t you dare sit there and tell me that you lied to me and Draco because you wanted us to be normal. Nothing you did could **_ever_** do that.”

Lucius was almost forty years old. He had been tortured more times than he could count. He had been spying on the darkest wizard of all time for twenty years.  But seeing his mate angry at him for something he had honestly done to protect him, brought stupid, coward tears to his eyes that he immediately wiped away.

“Two mates are not unheard of.” Lucius said slowly,  “Sometimes a creature’s mateship bond needs to be filled by two different mates. This is called a Tri bond for obvious reasons.” Both Harry and Draco were glaring at him now, but this was the only way he could explain, the only way he could defend himself, so if that meant going into teacher mode for a few minutes, then he would do it.

“You, Harry, don’t have a Tri Bond, you have the normal, average Duo bond. A bond between two creatures, a bond that only needs to be filled by one mate. Just because I cloned myself and created a second mate for you doesn’t change this fact.  Do you understand that, Harry? What kind of father would I be to ask you to choose between my son and me to complete your bond? What kind of mate would it make me if I asked for you to take us both?”

_ A shitty one. That’s what. _

“I need to go.” Draco whispered, horror etched into every line of his face and his entire body shaking as he stood up and made his way to the opening of the curtains.

“Draco-“

“Dray, wait.” Harry said, catching the blonde’s arm and cutting off Lucius’ statement. “Don’t go, please. We need to do this together.”

“I need some air.” Draco tore himself free of Harry’s hold, completely ignoring what his mate had said and all but ran from the tiny space and out of the hospital wing.

The Fae’s exit left Harry and Lucius is complete silence and they stood on opposite sides of the curtained room, simply staring at each other for several drawn out moments.

“Since I have my bond with Draco, would that mean I don’t need to bond with you?” Harry asked, the words weren’t vicious or hurtful in their intention, but they tore through Lucius’ heart more painfully than any curse ever could.

“Your bond is completed, Harry, you don’t need anyone else.”

“What about yours?” Harry retook his seat and moved the chair forward until his knees were pressed against the side of the bed and he was just inches away from Lucius.

“Don’t worry about me, Ha-“

“ _What about yours?_ ” The veela repeated, much louder and more forcefully this time, his eyes boring into Lucius’ and leaving no room for argument.

“Mine is classified as a half bond. I’m bound to you, but you’re not bound to me.” And good Merlin was it painful to even voice that fact.

“Could that change? Even though I have a double bond or whatever, could I still bind myself to you to complete your bond?”

Why would he ask such a thing? Lucius asked himself as he tilted his head in question and stared at Harry as though the answer to his internal struggles could be found on the teen’s face.

“You can bond with as many people as you wanted, Harry. A  _ Duo Bond _ only means that you need one mate to complete it, there’s no maximum.”

But it would entail binding oneself to others beside their mate and no creature on the planet was going to accept their mate taking on another if it wasn’t necessary.

Harry nodded in understanding, as though Lucius had just given the rationale for a NEWT problem instead of discussing the state of his mating bond. Nothing else was said about it and Harry took the time to change the subject ever so slightly, which Lucius wasn’t sure whether he should have been happy about or not.

“Why didn’t I know you were my mate before today? With Draco, I felt him all the time, even now, I know exactly where he is and if I push I can find out exactly how he’s feeling. We had to put spells on our bonds to keep them from overwhelming us, how did you manage to keep me from a feeling a thing from you for that long?”

“Shields.” Lucius said simply. “I used almost every ounce of magic I had, everyday to put a shield on my bond so I wouldn’t feel anything from you and then I placed a shield on your bond with me to keep you from feeling anything from me. Once you mated with Draco, it formed my half bond, so I could drop the shield around your bond, but I had to keep my own up all the time.” Lucius replied honestly and didn’t expect the outrage that flashed across Harry’s face for a moment before he managed to reel it in, though his hands were gripping the chair arms so tightly that his knuckles were quickly turning white from the force.

“You fucked with my bond? Without asking?”

“I was just trying-“

“Yes, I know, you were just trying to do what you thought was best. You wanted me and Draco to be happy. You wanted to give us a normal mateship, you weren’t trying to be cruel by keeping my mate away from me, you weren’t trying to hurt me  when you completely screwed with my bond so that I had no idea I even had a second a mate!

“The fact that I know that you had the best intentions is the only reason why I haven’t jinxed your arse!”

Harry stood from his chair and ran a hand through his hair in annoyance, letting out a giant sigh as he stopped in front of the white curtain, his back to Lucius.

“I’ve spent my whole life doing what I thought was right; risking my life, my happiness, everything I had, just to keep other people safe. So when you tell me that you lied and hid things from your son and your mate because you wanted what was best for them, I understand.”

Lucius let out a happy, relieved sigh, but it was short lived when Harry continued with his monologue.

“However, I also know that you went about it the wrong way. I know what happens to Fae that don’t complete their mate bonds. I know what Voldemort did to you when he found out that you were keeping a secret like this from him. And I know that it would have completely destroyed Draco if you had died over something this stupid. You put your life on the line because you didn’t trust me or Draco to be mature enough to handle this situation; that’s not okay, Lucius.”

Without looking back at Lucius, Harry flicked open the curtains with a wave of his hand and stepped through, leaving Lucius staring after him. It felt as though someone had reached into his chest and grabbed his heart in an iron grip. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t tear his eyes away from the spot his mate had been in just a moment ago.

He had stupidly let himself believe that Harry might accept him, that after all the lies and hiding that Harry would  agree to be his mate.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

This was a different pain than the one he’d been carrying for months. That pain was justifiable, it was honorable, he was carrying it for someone else. However, this pain, this ache in his chest that radiated throughout his entire body making him nauseous and causing his limbs to feel like lead, was for him alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be in Draco's POV, have we done a Draco POV? I don't think so...


	16. Forgery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So minecraft has taken over my life, as it does occasionally, causing me to lose track of my posted chapters. I'm also working on a couple of other stories at the moment, which is something I don't usually do...but the plot bunnies won't leave me alone, dammit.
> 
> With that said, here is the next chapter which deals with a little of what Draco is currently feeling.

Draco couldn’t stand to sit by his father’s bedside for a moment more and despite Harry’s insistence that he stayed, the blonde  ran from the infirmary and the castle until he was standing at the edge of the Black Lake.

 

The night was pleasantly cool and a breeze blew through Draco’s hair and caused ripples to gently flow across the surface of the lake and lap at the sandy edge. Without a thought to his designer trousers, Draco carefully sat himself down in the grass around the lake and leaned back on his arms to stare up at the half moon above him. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and silver crescent stood out vividly against the inky blackness of the sky.

 

Everything he thought he knew about his heritage had been up heaved. He wasn’t the son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, he was a clone, a copy of his father. Was Lucius even considered his father anymore? He wasn’t his son, in fact it would be more accurate to think of him as his twin, his brother.

 

But Lucius had raised him. He hadn’t left him to the house elves or treated him like a pest, like his mother had done. Despite his true parentage, the older man had treated him like a son.

 

If anything, he should be thankful that the horrid woman his father was married to wasn’t his actual mother. She had merely given birth to him instead of infecting him with her vile genetic material.

 

Draco let out a pleased huff and allowed himself to collapse backward onto the grass and entwined his fingers over his stomach. Tentatively, he reached out to the bond between himself and Harry, desperate to feel it and pleased to find that Harry’s calm facade had finally broken and anger was pouring out of him in waves.  Draco needed his mate to be upset over the news, needed him to be unaccepting because Draco was a selfish bastard and he wanted his mate all to himself, dammit.

 

Was he really Harry’s mate though? Tears were pouring over the edge of Draco’s eyelids as he stared up at the sky, refusing to close them or wipe the tears away in fear of more springing up in their place.

 

Lucius was Harry’s true mate. Draco was just the forgery that Harry had foolishly accepted as genuine. There was no way he was ever going to have his mate to himself again, now that Harry realized his mistake.

 

He should have known there was something wrong. Draco was never this happy, he should have known that heartbreak was right around the corner but instead of preparing himself for the inevitable pain, he had completely opened himself to it.

 

“I can hear you thinking from the castle.” Harry’s voice called and Draco hastily wiped away the tears that had fallen down his cheeks and sat up to watch as his mate smoothly glided down the hill and came to stop by his side.

 

“I just have a lot on my mind.” Draco replied, turning his gaze to stare out over the lake. He didn’t want Harry to see the redness in his eyes or the wet trails the tears at left on his skin. The other man must have thought he was so childish now that he was crying constantly, but he couldn’t help it, the shear thought of losing Harry was enough to make his soul hurt.

 

Harry made himself comfortable in the grass to Draco’s right and smoothly rested his chin on the older teen’s shoulder to follow his gaze and to stare out at the glassy surface of the lake.

 

“We need to talk about this.” Harry whispered, but made no move to change his current position. “I can feel the pain coming off of you and I think it’s completely unwarranted.”

Unwarranted?

 

Draco was losing his mate! Half of his soul was about to be ripped away from him and Harry thought it was unwarranted for him to be in pain over it?

 

“You’re so tense, Dray. Calm down.” Harry’s fingers touched lightly at Draco’s sides before gently running up and down the blonde’s body, sending goosebumps over his arms. “What are you thinking right now?”

 

A million different things. Harry should have just asked him how many stars were in the sky. 

 

“I-” Draco started only to heave out a sigh and run his hands over his face. “He’s your mate, Harry.”

 

“Yes.” Harry said slowly, confusion flinting across his features as he tightened his hold on Draco and pulled him closer. “We’ve spent hours talking about that. He’s my mate but so are you.”

 

“You don’t understand!” Draco hissed and pulled away from Harry to angrily get to his feet and trudge across the grass until he was just inches from the lake’s edge. 

 

How was Harry acting so calm about all of this? Draco could feel the anger coming off of him, could sense every emotion Harry was currently experiencing and not one of the explained how he was able to sit there calmly and expect Draco to do the same. They had been lied to, everything about their bond was wrong and soiled now, didn’t Harry see that?

 

“Make me understand, then.” Harry replied as his hands appeared around Draco’s waist and his chin rested gently on the blonde’s shoulder. “Talk to me, Dray. You need to get all of it out.”

 

Draco relaxed back into his mate’s hold, this was home and warmth and safety and it was fucking perfect.

 

“He’s your real mate.” Draco whispered. “If I wasn’t here you would have already mated to him. The only reason we bonded was because he lied to us.”

 

“No, we bonded because I love you.” Harry corrected and before Draco could reply he was being physically turned around so that his front was pressed against Harry’s. “You’re my mate, Draco. I don’t care that so is he. I don’t care if you’re a clone of him. All I care about is that I love you and there’s no way in hell that I’m ever going to give you up. Do you understand me?”

 

“But Harry-”

 

“Don’t you fucking dare, Draco.” Harry snarled as he pressed them even closer together and leaned forward so that his face was just inches in front of Draco’s. “I love you. You’re my mate. We’re bound. Stop overthinking it.”

 

“But you have a bond to him as well.” Draco whispered, meeting his mate’s eyes and silently begging for the reply he wanted to hear. “What are you going to do about that?”

 

Because it wasn’t his decision, it was Harry’s. He had no control whatsoever over whether or not he’d be able to keep his mate to himself.  Draco just to stand by and wait to see whether Harry was going to bind himself to someone else or not. He had never felt so helpless and out of control in his entire life.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Just like that, the misery that had been surrounding Draco, vanished. In it’s place red hot anger appeared and before he could think better of it, he placed his hands on Harry’s shoulders and shoved him. 

 

Hard. 

 

The veela let out a surprised huff and instinctively released his inky black wings as he tumbled to the ground. 

 

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Draco growled, stepping forward until he was standing completely over Harry who was now staring up at him through the canopy of black feathers surrounding him. “Do you want him or don’t you?”

 

The words brought back the memories of the dreams he’d been having over the past month, the most recent one involving Harry in bed with Draco’s father. Had the bond caused those thoughts in his mind? Did the Fae inside of him know that he was Harry’s false mate? Or were the similarities nothing but a coincidence born from an unhealthy attraction to his own father/twin?

 

“I-” Harry began. “Draco it’s complicated.”

 

“Just tell me, Harry. If you didn’t have me to worry about, would you bond with him?” He already knew the answer, Draco could see it in Harry’s eyes as clearly as he could see the moon above them.  “You would.”

 

Harry’s wings retracted and he bolted upright and to his feet in a matter of seconds before gripping Draco by the arm and forcing him to stay when all the blonde wanted to do was throw himself into bed and sob until he felt better. 

 

Or died. Death would work too.

 

“I would.” Harry admitted, his eyes wide and fearful as the teen gripped Draco hard enough for him to hiss out in pain. “But that’s completely hypothetical and irrelevant.”

 

“Big words, you must have gotten those from Granger.”

 

“Stop it.” Harry growled and the sound had Draco freezing in his tracks, all thoughts of moving or saying another word, flying from his mind. “The fact is, Draco, that I do have you to worry about. I don’t know the answer to your question because this decision isn’t mine to make. It’ll effect both of us and as such we should come to a decision together.”

 

What?

 

Draco stared in Harry’s green eyes, trying to find a hint of dishonesty or pity in them, but finding only sincerity and love. Was Harry really telling him what Draco thought he was? Was he saying that Draco could decide whether or not Harry mated with Lucius?

 

“Then no.” Draco said simply. “You’re mine and you heard him when he said that he prepared himself for this. He knew when he had me that he was giving up his right to a mate, that’s for him to bare, not you.”

 

“Draco-” Harry sighed as he closed his eyes and leaned over to press their foreheads together. “-be reasonable.”

 

“I am being reasonable. He made his decision and he knew what it would entail. Just because he had a sucky home life doesn’t mean that I need to give up my mate!”

 

But was Harry really his, though?

 

“Calm down. I’m not asking you to give me up, Draco. But this is a big decision and we’re both too emotional to be making it right now.”

 

“I’m not too emotional. It doesn’t matter when we discuss this, if you’re asking for my input then I say that I don’t want you to bond with him.” Draco said sternly, though not daring to distangle himself from Harry’s grip.

 

“Fae die if they don’t bond with their mate.” Harry whispered and Draco felt his eyelashes brush against the blonde’s cheeks as he blinked his green eyes open to stare into Draco’s. “Do you want to see him die? He’s your father.”

 

That little tidbit of information about fae wasn’t commonly known by wizards. It was only mentioned once in a book that had to have been around for a millennia or more, in a tiny paragraph, in Latin. The only reason Draco and Harry had learned of it was because Lucius had taken the time to translate the entire book and break it into manageable chucks for them. 

 

In fact, Lucius had been the one to help them with most of their research and was major reason for the strength of Harry and Draco’s bond. The realization had Draco sighing softly as he stared down at his shorter mate. 

 

He wouldn’t have Harry if it wasn’t for Lucius. He most certainly didn’t want to see his father dead, despite the lies that had wedged themselves deeply into their relationship, threatening to crack it in half. 

 

“You really do want to mate with him.” Said Draco softly as he pulled away from Harry to get a better look at him. 

 

“He’s my mate.” Harry replied, his eyes locking onto his own shoes. “I can feel him as clearly as I can feel you, now. So yes, I do want to mate with him and I’m so sorry Dra-”

 

“Don’t be sorry.” Draco interrupted with a sigh, pulling the veela toward him and holding him in an iron grip. “This isn’t your fault, Harry. You have two mates, it’s natural for you to want to mate with both of them.”

  
“I’m not sorry for that.” Harry whispered as he pulled back just a few inches to look up into Draco’s eyes. “I’m sorry for hurting you.”

 

“Then don’t be sorry for that either. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Harry, and if I only get half of you, then that’s still more than I’ll ever deserve.” He rested his palms against Harry’s cheeks and cupped his mate’s face gently as he leaned down to kiss him. “Let’s go to bed, it’s been a long day.”

 

Harry nodded silently and turned toward the castle, his arm locked around Draco’s waist to lead him back toward their respective rooms. 


	17. The Second Mate

Harry awoke the next morning with two pale arms pulling him tightly against his mate’s chest.  The soft, calm breathing of the fae brushing against his ears and tickling the back of his neck. Draco hadn’t released his hold for a moment since they climbed into bed, almost as though he was truly terrified of physically losing Harry. 

 

“Draco.” Harry whispered, turning onto his other side so that he was facing the blonde, whose eyes were too tightly closed and whose breathing had hitched ever so slightly at Harry’s movement. “It’s nearly noon. I need to be getting up.”

 

“I distinctly remember that I’m the one that usually wakes you up in the morning” Draco mumbled, never once opening his eyes. “Are you truly that excited to speak with my father?”

 

“Don’t do that.” Harry whispered and ran his fingers gently over Draco’s cheeks and eyelids. “We talked about this. 

 

After cuddling up in bed together, Draco and Harry had spoken for hours and had agreed that Harry wouldn’t bond with Lucius, at least for awhile. However, Harry wasn’t about to reject Lucius either, he was intent on spending time with the older man, to give him the same chance and the same time that he gave Draco.

 

Draco hadn’t been pleased of course, Harry didn’t expect him to be, but the knowledge that Harry wasn’t planning to jump into another’s bed made the fae much more comfortable.

 

The blonde’s eyes slowly blinked up and Harry was flashed back to the dream he had had a week ago, the one where Draco and Lucius had so willingly kissed and touched each other. It had wracked Harry with guilt afterward and plagued his mind. However, now that he knew both Malfoys were his mates, the image was weaseling into his mind and filling it with dangerous possibilities. 

 

And he was going to hell for each and every one of them. 

 

“How would you feel if you were lying in the hospital wing just waiting for your mate to walk in and tell you that he wanted nothing to do with you? If you were lying in wait for your death sentence?”

 

“Shut up, Harry and get out of my bed.” Draco turned away from Harry and the veela was left staring at his mate’s back with a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. “Tell my father that I love him, okay? Tell him that I appreciate everything he did for us, everything he did for me, but I can’t be there right now.”

 

“I will and I’ll tell him you plan to visit him soon.”

 

“Unless you want to take a tumble down the staircase, I suggest you stick with repeating exactly what I told you, Potter.” Was Draco’s growled reply and Harry watched as the blonde pulled the emerald sheets over his head, concealing him from Harry’s gaze.

 

Slowly, Harry crawled over Draco’s side of the bed and gently pulled down the comforter covering his mate. Draco didn’t move and Harry smiled cheekily as he bent his body over Draco’s to look him in his glazed eyes.  “I love you, puffmuffin.”

 

Draco just stared at him as though he was a complete dunderhead, a single eyebrow itching up his forehead. “Puffmuffin?”

 

“You heard me.” Harry laughed and lowered his head even further to kiss his mate chastely. When he moved to pull away from the man, Draco gave a squeak in protest and his hands shot upward to clasp around Harry’s cheeks. 

 

“Mine.” He growled harshly and kissed Harry until his lips were swollen and red from the force. 

 

“ _ Mine. _ ” Harry corrected with a laugh and  pulled away only to lean in and place a kiss on the blonde’s forehead. “And don’t you dare forget it, puffmuffin.”

 

One of those pale hands shot out to grab Harry as he hastily detangled himself from the linens and the handsy blonde. 

 

-

 

Harry slowly pushed open the large, heavy doors that led to the infirmary. The smell of antiseptic hit him first, then the sight of rows of white beds and sterile white curtains. Most of the beds were empty and the few that weren’t had their curtains completely drawn, which Harry was thankful for as he shuffled into Lucius’ make shift room. 

 

Lucius was lying in the much the same position he had been in the night before. He was staring up at the ceiling and looked far too pale and sickly against the white sheets than Harry dared to think about. Harry didn’t say a word when Lucius’ eyes drifted to met him, he only smiled lightly and inched over to the chair that he had claimed earlier. 

 

They sat like that, in complete silence, for close to twenty minutes before Harry finally moved himself to the edge of his seat, very nearly tipping the entire chair over. “How did you sleep?”

 

“Poorly.”

 

“Oh.” Harry’s eyes fell to his lap as the words he had so carefully planned, fled his mind completely.  “I’m sorry.”

 

He should have that tattooed on his forehead and save himself some breath, after all the times he’s said it lately. 

 

“Just tell me what you came here for, Harry.” Lucius sighed, his eyes closing as he moved one hand to his forehead. 

 

“I came to tell you that-” Harry sighed softly and placed both hands on his thighs before leaning forward and placing his head between his knees. When did talking become this difficult? Lucius wasn’t in the position of power here, Harry was. This should have been easier, it wasn’t like he had to fear rejection. 

 

“Draco and I talked last night, a lot, and-”

 

“Say no more, Harry. I understand, I never expected anything of either of you, I just wanted to explain what was happening. I appreciate you coming but there was no need.”

 

The words tore at Harry’s heart. How must it feel to whole heartedly believe that your mate would reject you? How would it feel to have the  one person in the entire world that was made for you, turn you away? Both of his mates were suffering these feelings and were both so selflessly trying to block them from him. 

 

“I didn’t come to tell you that.” Harry said loudly, hoping to put Lucius’ words to rest. “I came to tell you that I want to give this, to give us, a chance.” He didn’t miss the light that lit up his mate’s eyes, only to be replaced by darkness and disbelief.

 

“But Draco-”

 

“I never said there wouldn’t be conditions.” Harry replied and stood from his chair to help Lucius sit up in the bed so that his back was pressed against the headboard. Instead of retaking his seat, Harry cautiously settled himself on the foot of the bed and rested his hand lightly on the older man’s ankle.

 

“Explain. Now.” Lucius ordered, his voice hardening until it might as well have been steel against Harry’s ears. 

 

“Draco and I decided that I would accept you as a second mate. I won’t break my bond with him but I won’t reject you either.” Because as fucked up as it was, Harry was selfish enough to want both of them. 

 

“And he’s fine with this? I can’t help but notice he’s not with you.” Lucius said making a show of looking around the room and trying to peek behind Harry as though Draco was lurking in the shadows somewhere. 

 

“He doesn’t want to see you die or see you hurt.” Saying that Draco was  fine with this arrangement was a gross over exaggeration, at best he was lukewarm to the idea. 

 

“So that’s a no.” Lucius sighed, running a hand through his tousled hair, “It could take years for the rejection to kill me and I can handle being hurt. But I won’t see him suffer, Harry. Go back to bed, tell Draco that-”

 

Harry didn’t know what came over him, one moment Lucius was talking nonsense, trying to send Harry away like he was a stupid child, and the next, Harry had his hands cradling the blonde’s face and was kissing him softly. 

 

Lucius froze and played a statue under Harry’s onslaught until the teenager pulled away to press their foreheads together, something that he had only ever done with Draco. “We spent the entire night talking, Lucius. He wants me to himself, of course, but he loves you so much that he’s willing to share me with you. Don’t disregard his generosity by playing the martyr.”

 

“He’s so stupid.” Lucius whispered and clamped a hand over the nap of Harry’s neck to pull the teen down until their lips met in a heated kiss. Harry greedily sucked Lucius’ tongue into his mouth and clumsily climbed into the other man’s lap before his conscious mind could think better of it. 

 

“Wait.” Harry gasped as Lucius’ hand trailed down Harry’s back to clutch at his arse. “That’s one of the conditions I mentioned earlier.  I gave Draco and I time before we mated, you deserve that same time not a fumbled mating in the infirmary five minutes after I agreed to bond with you.”

 

“I assure you that I would, in no way,  be discontented with a fumbling mating in an infirmary bed.”

 

Lucius’ reply made Harry smile, that’s something Draco would say - 

 

_ BAD HARRY! No Draco thoughts when you’re sitting in his father’s lap! _

 

“I would be.” Oh the lies. “And I know Draco isn’t ready for that, he’s still trying to come to terms with me having a second mate, let alone completing a bond with someone else. Plus I’m still mad at you! You’re a lying arsehole and don't think that I've conveniently forgotten that.”

 

Harry couldn't blame Draco, if positions were reversed and he had to stand by and let Draco mate with someone else, he’d make it a requirement that ten years would have to pass prior to mating. No touching for three years. No kissing for seven. 

  
Lucius’ hands tightened ever so minutely over Harry’s arse before he released a sigh and removed his hands, allowing them to fall to his sides. “Then I would take it that you would be receptive to the idea of courting in the meantime? I can’t imagine Draco went through the entire process, having been trapped in an old musty house all summer.”

 

Because of course Lucius Malfoy would want to court him. Of course. 

 

“I wouldn’t have to wear your letterman jacket or anything, would I?” Harry asked sarcastically, though he was smiling like a loon. From the confused look he received from the older man, the statement had gone right over his pretty blonde head. 

 

“I’m afraid I’m unfamilar with the Letterman family, do they create this type of attire-”

 

“Stop. It’s a muggle thing. Don’t worry about it.” Harry laughed, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to Lucius’ forehead before moving off the bed to retake his chair. “And to answer your question. I think courting would be a great idea, it’ll give us time to get to know each other and give Draco time to adjust.”

 

“It will be difficult to hide such a thing.” Lucius said slowly and if Harry didn’t know any better, he’d say the fae was smiling. 

 

“Then don’t.” Harry replied simply with a shrug of his shoulders. After all, Voldemort was already after Draco and Lucius and Harry had been on the man’s shit list for years now. Hiding would only continue torturing all of them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you to everyone that's read, left a kudos, commented, and bookmarked. I'm incredibly thankful and touched by each one. 
> 
> I just broke my writer's block (knock on wood) and have been typing up a storm not only for this story but for my Snarry one-shot series as well as a one-shot prompt that I received from one of my lovely commenters. This will hopefully mean that I'll be updating once a week which was my original plan, but a lack of material made that a little difficult.


	18. Sunlight on Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter got a lot of love and I appreciate everyone that stroked my ego last week.

The next day at breakfast, Harry and Draco walked into the Great Hall side by side, their fingers interlocked and their faces turned toward the other as they talked animatedly about a transfiguration assignment they had been diligently working on together. The sight of them silenced every voice in the Great Hall, though neither of the boys let it affect them and Harry led his mate over to the Gryffindor table as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

 

He took his usual seat next to Ron and Hermione and Draco slid his lithe body right up against Harry’s before he began making up his plate, never once breaking their conversation.

 

“Er...Harry?” Neville asked slowly and Harry looked away from his mate to see the entire table staring and him and Draco as though they had each grown three heads with contradicting personalities. “What’s going on?”

 

“I’m a dark veela, Draco is my mate. I love him desperately, he fucks me nightly, and today he’s going to have breakfast with me. Okay?” Harry ended his spiel with a huge smile and without looking at the blonde, Harry wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled Draco closer to kiss him gently on the top of the head.

 

“Language, Harry.” Hermione giggled as the rest of the table continued to stare at the mated pair.

 

“Must you be so dramatic, Potter?” Draco sighed, though he was smiling softly as he loaded up his plate and snapped his fingers at the pitcher of pumpkin juice next to Ginny. “Weasley, do you mind?”

 

Harry bit his lip and choked down a laugh as Ginny only glared at the blonde and slowly pulled the pitcher even closer to her as though to prevent anyone else from handing the Slytherin what he wanted.  Draco released an aggravated sigh and leaned back on the bench as he realized what was going on.

 

“Please, Weasley.” The pitcher slid across the table so fast that pumpkin juice splashed over the rim, leaving orange globs of juice in it’s wake.

 

The exchange between Ginny and Draco seemed to have lessened the tension in the air and as Harry watched, everyone slowly turned their attention to their own breakfasts, only briefly flicking their attention up to Harry and Draco between bites.

 

“How in the world do you two manage to do that nightly?” Lavender Brown asked several minutes later, when Harry had just started to think that his friends and house mates had begun to come to terms with his and Draco’s relationship.

 

“What?” Harry asked and looked up to face his fellow Gryffindor, causing Lavender and her group of friends to giggle softly in reply.

 

“How to you and Malfoy manage to sneak off every night? It’s hard enough managing it every month or so.”

 

“I apparate him to my private sex dungeon immediately after class and chain him up in the appropriate positions until morning.”

 

An arm surrounded Harry’s shoulders, pulling him toward Draco before he felt a pair of lips press themselves against his forehead. Draco’s statement earned the pair several shocked and sickened looks and Harry somehow managed to keep a completely sincere expression on his face as he turned and nuzzled his head into Draco’s neck.

 

“I love you, master.” Harry mock whispered and when the color drained from every face at the table, Harry and Draco’s composure finally broke and the pair erupted into laughter that had Harry gripping his side in pain.

 

“Are all Gryffindor’s this gullible or-”

 

“Be nice, Draco.”

 

“Fine. Then to answer your question, Ms. Brown. We are granted alone time together since we-” Draco turned and lightly tapped a finger against Harry’s nose. “-are fated to be together forever and ever.” With each syllable, Draco’s finger tapped Harry’s face and the younger teen simply stared up at the blonde as though he was the biggest fool on the planet. Cutesy sarcasm did not become Draco Malfoy.

 

“Oh. Well that must be nice.” Lavender said wistfully. “It’s like they’re actually treating you like adults.”

 

Of course, that led to grumbles of agreement and a ten minute conversation about the unfairness of being seventeen and unable to act like it.

 

Harry was in the middle of a conversation with Hermione about the potion that Snape had assigned for them to prepare that day, when familiar hoots and whooshes filled the air as the owls arrived with the morning mail. Harry spared the birds a curtesty glance before turning his attention back to the conversation, he wasn’t expecting anything and fan mail was left in Dumbledore’s office.

 

So when a huge eagle owl landed in front of Harry, it was understandable that he immediately thought it was for Draco. However, when the bird made no move toward the blonde and continued to stare at Harry intently, the teen sighed and held out a hand for the package in the owl’s talons.

 

The moment the parcel was detached from the bird, it took off, not even giving Harry enough time to give it one of Hedwig’s favorite treats, a slice of hogwarts bacon.

 

“Don’t open it here.” Draco said sternly and for the first time, Harry noticed how tense he was, which most certainly hadn’t been the case prior to the owl arriving. Without saying another word, the blonde reached over and tapped the front of package, where delicate letters were carefully centered on the brown paper.

 

_To: Harry_

_From: Lucius_

 

Oh.

 

“Draco-” Harry stared and placed a hand on his mate’s arm, only to flinch when the blonde carefully pulled it away and placed a false confident smile on his face.

 

“Open it later when there aren’t a hundred eyes on you. Let’s give your friends time to accept me before they find out about him.”

 

“Alright.” Harry slipped the package into his school bag and bumped his shoulder against his mate’s. “We’ll open it together.” Because there was no way in hell that he was going to let Draco think for a moment that there was anywhere he’d rather be than by his side.

 

-

 

Draco and Harry didn’t get a moment alone together for the rest of the day and they had to wait until after dinner before they were able to trudge back to their dorms and sit on either side of the bed with the package between them.

 

“It’s a courting gift, I’m sure.” Draco said softly, staring down at the box as though it was single handedly going to ruin his life. “Something he’ll want you to wear during the length of the courtship.”

 

Draco’s pale fingers flicked at the package, his nails digging into the paper and creating little tears in the surface.

 

“Give me your Malfoy crest pendant.” Harry ordered, holding out his hand as the idea hit him.

 

“No! Why would I- oh.”

 

“Yeah, oh.” Harry laughed and wiggled his fingers, waiting for Draco’s necklace. “Now hand it over. I promise I’ll wear it every day.”

 

Slowly, Draco reached under his nightshirt and pulled the necklace up and over his head before handing it to Harry. It was a long, silver chain with an onyx pendant that had the Malfoy crest carved deeply into the surface.

 

Harry slipped it over his head before picking up the package and gently pulling away the paper to reveal a cardboard jewelry box that caused Draco to huff out a sigh.

 

“See!”

 

“Yes, yes, I see. You are the brillant and all knowing mate that I love, are you happy, now?”

 

“Ecstatic.”

 

Because if there was one thing Draco Malfoy loved, it was being told that he was right.

 

Harry’s hands shook as he opened the small box, but he eventually managed to get the lid off and he was left looking down at a simple green leather bracelet. There were no markings or gems on the smooth surface and there wasn’t even a clasp to close it, only a pair of simple ties. It looked like the last thing that Lucius Malfoy would buy and Harry absolutely loved it.

 

He was torn, unsure whether or not he should show how much he liked the bracelet between his fingers, but it was Draco that made the decision for him. The blonde took the piece of leather and promptly tied it around Harry’s wrist. “It looks like you.” He said simply and Harry’s breath caught in his throat when the blonde lowered his head and gently kissed an area of exposed skin between Harry’s hand and the bracelet.

 

“You should go and thank him.” Draco whispered, his breath tingling over the tender skin of Harry’s wrist.

 

“It’s late.” Harry argued. “I’ll thank him later, I can think of a dozen other things I’d rather be doing right now.” He gently reached up and cradled Draco’s face as the blonde turned it up to look at him.

 

“Am I one of those?”

 

“Course, love.” Harry pulled his mate up and locked their lips together before gently pushing Draco back onto the bed and straddling him with a smirk.

 

~

 

_Harry blinked his eyes open and let a happy smile spread across his face as he found himself looking up at the black ceiling that belonged to the world of his recurring dreams._

_Slowly, Harry sat up in the bed and turned his attention to the two blondes standing a few feet away from the bed. Both of them were smirking down at Harry and their matching eyes were trained in on him without paying the least bit of attention to each other._

_“Kiss.” Harry ordered, propping himself up on the pillows as he waved his hand to indicate that it was his mates he was speaking to._

_Both Malfoys stared at Harry in shock for a moment before tentatively turning to the other._

_Lucius’ hand came up to gently cradle the side of Draco’s face and the older man leaned forward, only to stop mere inches from Draco’s lips. “Only if you want to.” He whispered and the sound traveled to Harry as though they had been voiced directly next to his ear._

_“Merlin yes.” Draco gasped and surged up to kiss Lucius, his hands gripping roughly at the older man’s hair to pull Lucius even more firmly against him._

_They completely devoured each other, ripping clothes, pulling hair, and leaving trails of bite marks down the other’s neck. Harry watched it all with a soft smile as he slowly ran a hand over the straining bulge in his pajama bottoms._

_He was so tired of hurting each of his mate simply because he wanted both of them. Harry didn’t want to choose and he didn’t want them to stand by and simply share him either. He was selfish and wanted his mates to not only want him, but each other as well._

_Out in the real world, that desire was impossible, but here, inside his own mind, Harry was going to get exactly what he wanted._

_Draco let out a low growl as he pushed Lucius down onto the bed. His fae markers appeared in a flash along his skin and Lucius’ markings came into existence as well in retaliation. Both sets of markings were a deep emerald green, indicating arousal._

_“I’m not going to let you have him.” Draco snarled and straddled his father before trapping the older man’s hands above his head. “He’s my mate.” Draco rythmatically moved his hips against Lucius’ and began leaving a series of reddened bit marks down the older fae’s neck and markings. The teen’s grey eyes moved to glance up at Harry, who was now stroking his newly exposed cock and biting his lip to keep from crying out in pleasure. He didn’t want to distract his mates right now._

_“My mate.” Draco repeated, his eyes never leaving Harry’s, even as he continued biting and sucking at Lucius’ throat._

_“No.” Lucius growled as he arched up under his son’s lips. “He’s mine.” The older man moaned low in his throat before he got a good grip on Draco’s forearms and turned their positions so that he was on top of the younger fae._

_The erotic image suddenly turned into a battle right before Harry’s eyes. Lips were locked together in a rough kiss that had blood dripping down Draco and Lucius’ chins as they  bit at each other’s mouths. Hands were gripping pale blonde hair and pulling roughly, sending shining strands into the air and scattering them across the black bed._

_“Stop it.” Harry sighed as he pulled his shirt up and over his head, leaving him completely naked as he crawled across the bed toward his mates. He leaves the bastards alone for five minutes and they try to kill each other. Apparently this dream world wasn’t that different from the real one after all._

_“Why do you both have to be such arseholes, even here?” He asked rhetorically as he reached out and gently ran a hand through Draco’s hair and placed the other one on Lucius’ back, between his shoulder blades._

_“I belong to both of you.” Harry continued softly,  “and you both belong to me.” Gently, Harry placed a kiss on the swirling mark under Lucius’ chin before leaning down and placing another kiss on the exact same mark on Draco. “And as far as I’m aware, there’s no reason why you can’t belong to each other as well.”_

_Merlin did he want to say that to the real Lucius and Draco. Maybe it would put an end to all the jealously and hurt that Harry was causing them, though if Harry was being honest with himself, he knew that the words would only be met with disgust and hatred, destroying whatever happiness his mates still had._

_Both of his mates just stared at Harry as though he was crazy and the veela heaved out a sigh before slumping down onto the bed so that he was sitting his legs crossed and his elbows resting on his knees._

_“Stop thinking about this like you’re losing me, because you’re not. Think about this like you’re gaining each other.  Or-” Harry leaned back so that he was lying down with his arms above his head and his legs spread out in front of him. “-you can both get the fuck out and send in Tom Hiddleston.”_

_Because one way or another, Harry was getting a good dream out of this mess._

_Faster than Harry could track, Draco surged up and kissed Lucius before rolling out from underneath him and clambering over to Harry to spread himself over his younger mate._

_“Thank you, Harry.” Draco whispered wistfully against Harry’s ear and he let out a pleased hum before sitting up grabbing Lucius by the arm, pulling the older fae up so that he could wrap his arms around his waist and pull him against Draco’s magically unclothed body._

_This time, when their lips met, is was with passion instead of ferocity. Their mouths moved in perfect synchronization and their hands cradled faces instead of pulling at hair._

_“I love you.” Harry heard Draco whisper and when he looked up to meet his mate’s eye, it wasn’t Harry the blonde was staring at lovingly, but Lucius. “I never knew how to say it.”_

_He didn’t give the older man so much as a moment to process what he was being told, before he surged back up to kiss his father. One of Draco’s hands traveled down the pale body pressed against his before coming to land on the other fae’s hip. With one pull, their lower bodies met as Draco ground their groins together and Lucius threw his head back in ecstasy, exposing his throat for Draco to explore._

_They were so beautiful together. Like sunlight on snow. Pale, gorgeous, and blinding if one stared at it too long. Harry couldn’t, wouldn’t keep his hands to himself and he reached out slowly to rest a hand on Draco’s lower back before moving himself to his knees and latching his mouth onto Lucius’ defined abdomen._

_“You never knew.” Draco gasped when Harry worked himself up the bodies of his mate and began laying gentle kisses on the teenager’s neck. “I craved your touch and loved every whisper of fingers over my head or pats on my shoulder. I always thought you were so beautiful and it was you I thought about at night when I was alone and it was your fingers I imagine pleasuring me.”_

_Finally this dream was getting somewhere!_

_Lucius and Draco had stopped kissing while Draco spoke and Harry pulled away from his mates to see that Lucius was gently cradling Draco’s face in the palms of his hands and was staring down at the younger man as though he was the last oasis in the most torturous of deserts._

_“You never said anything.”_

_“I couldn’t. How was I supposed to come to you at twelve and tell you that it was my own father that I wanted? That he was the first person to ever send arousal through me, that he was the first person I dreamed about, that every touch my mother bestowed upon him awoke the first feelings of jealously in me?”_

_Tears were trailing down Draco’s cheeks as he stared up at Lucius and for the first time since he had started coming to this dream world, Harry felt completely out of place._

_“You would be so disgusted with me if I told you this.” Draco whispered so softly that Harry only just barely picked up on it._

_What did dream Draco mean by that? Hadn’t he just told Lucius everything? Why was a figment of Harry’s imagination so upset?_

_“Nothing you said to me could make me disgusted with you.” Lucius reassured the younger man, pulling him closure until Draco’s head was resting on Lucius’ chest.  “Thank you for keeping this from me all this time.” Draco moved to pull away from his father, but a firm grip kept him in place as Lucius continued talking. “If I had known what you felt, I wouldn’t have been able to control myself around you.”_

_Lucius’ fingers came up to gently wipe away the tears on Draco’s face and he met Harry’s eyes over the top of the younger fae’s head._

_All Harry had wanted was some sexy time, he hadn’t expected for his dream to take such an emotional turn._

_“You were my son and my clone but I’ve always felt drawn to you, Draco. You’ve always been so much like me that we could relate to each other, but different enough to drive me absolutely insane.”_

_Then they were kissing again and this dream was finally going the way Harry wanted it to. Well, almost…_

_“Now that we’ve had our little heart to heart, could both of you please come over here and fuck me?”  Harry flopped himself back onto the bed and tried to contort his body into what he hoped was a sexy pose. Chances were he just looked like a fool, but he got points for trying._

_Lucius and Draco both locked their gazes onto Harry’s twisted form and a pleased thrill shot through his body. This was what Harry wanted, what he selfishly craved. He wanted to be stalked, desired, and devoured by both of his mates._

_“I call the left side.” Draco growled and Lucius released his hold on his son to crawl toward Harry, perfectly in sync with Draco beside him._


	19. Heroes and Monsters

Lucius didn’t know why he was so anxious as he walked through the halls, most of the students didn’t pay him any more mind than they usually did, but the ones that had been at the meeting a few days ago, all glared at him as he passed. However, it wasn’t them that caused Lucius’ heart to be beat frantically in his chest, no it was the thought of the gift he had sent to Harry the day before. 

 

He had been trapped in the infernal hospital wing the entire day and he hadn’t gotten the chance to see the look on Harry’s face when he opened the box and the teen’s reaction was eating away at Lucius’ subconscious. Not that Harry was one to be particular about items according to Severus,  but he just wanted his mate to enjoy something he had picked out, something that had belonged to his family. 

 

It was with a sigh and a rapidly beating heart, that Lucius walked into his seventh years DADA class and nervously walked to his desk without daring to look over Harry. He could feel the teen just a few feet away and the moment he was seated at his desk and able to hide any reaction that may overcome him, he looked up. 

 

Harry and Draco were sitting beside each other, obviously no longer finding it necessary to hide their mateship. Draco had his hand clutching at Harry’s and both teens were staring intently at him as though waiting for his attention. The blonde smirked evilly before raising the hand he was clutching and turning it for his father’s gaze, to show off the green band of leather encircling the veela’s wrist. 

 

Thank, Merlin. He sighed internally as every muscle in his body relaxed and the air seemed to lighten by several pounds. 

 

Now that Harry had accepted the first gift, the two of them were now officially courting. It was an ancient process rarely used in modern day, but if Harry wanted to give Draco time to accept this change in their relationship, then this was perfect. 

 

Unfortunately, this meant he wouldn’t be able to feel those incredible lips against his until after two dates, but he would suffer through it for his mate.

 

Lucius’ mind wandered for several more minutes, until he was rudely shaken from his thoughts by a loud clearing of a throat, only to find that his entire class was staring at him. 

 

Oh yes, he was supposed to be teaching, wasn’t he? 

-

 

“You’re sickening.” Severus growled lowly at the head table during dinner that night, causing Lucius to turn his attention to the unhappy vampire. 

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“I mean, you’re jumping up and down in your chair like an over stimulated toddler. All because Potter is wearing that bland piece of jewelry you pulled out of storage.” Severus didn’t turn his gaze to Lucius and kept his attention focused on the students in front of him as he roughly pierced a floret of broccoli and raised it to his lips. 

 

“One minute you’re bitching because I’m too sad, now your bitching because I’m too happy. Are you ever content, Severus?” That was a rhetorical question because Lucius already knew the answer was a flat “No” paired with a nasty glare. 

 

“I don’t bitch, I merely share my feelings with you. You are my friend are you not?”

 

“You don’t have feelings, bat.”

 

Even as the words left his mouth, Lucius gently nudged his friend with his shoulder, a sappy smile never leaving his face. 

 

“Have you considered the first outing for your courtship?” Severus asked with sigh, obviously unhappy about the change in topic. 

 

“Dinner.” Lucius said simply, a smirk growing as Severus raised a single eyebrow in question. 

 

“Just dinner? Are you capable of such a thing?”

 

“Dinner on the Malfoy ship as it trails down the French Riviera”

 

“That’s more acceptable. Are you bringing your miniature with you, or are you leaving the competition at home?”

 

The words brought a flash of memory from a dream the night before, to Lucius’ mind. The  whispered words of Draco as he clutched at him and Lucius’ hands cradling his face before their lips met. 

 

“It’s just going to be Harry and I.” Lucius  replied, desperately wishing that his thoughts would stop straying to that sinful dream. It put stupid, foolish hope into his heart, and every time he remembered that it as a fantasy and nothing more, his heart ached as painfully as when he thought Harry was rejecting him. 

 

There must have been something in his voice that piqued Severus’ curiosity because he stared at the older blonde as though he was a question that needed solving, before turning away with a soft sigh and letting the conversation lapse into silence. 

 

-

 

Lucius and I are going to dinner.” Harry said as he curled up next to Draco later that night and the blonde stared down at his mate in surprise. 

 

“When did you arrange this?” Because he had been stuck to Harry all day like a horrible zit that refused to be popped and cleansed.  He would have known if Lucius had arranged a date with his mate.

 

“He left me a letter on my bed.” Harry replied stiffly, obviously, afraid of Draco’s reaction that statement. “Just said to meet him in his office on Saturday for dinner.”

 

“Well that’s nice.” Draco said softly and laid his chin on top of Harry’s dark head. 

 

“Draco-”

“It’s nice, Harry. I’m fine with it, honestly.” So what if Lucius was going to have dinner with Harry? Harry was lying in Draco’s arms right now. That’s what mattered. 

 

-

 

“Did you know of Lucius’ traitorous deeds?” The Dark Lord hissed into Severus’ face as the vampire stood in the center of their meeting location. It was the darkest, dankest, dirtiest and most dreadful of all of the safe houses and that was a rather difficult record to break.

 

“No, my lord.” Severus lied steadily, his mind blank as the dark lord riffled through his surface thoughts. 

 

“So you had no previous knowledge of Lucius’ use of the Hominem Eodem potion? You were unaware of his spying for the order of the phoenix, despite your affiliation with them? I find that hard to believe, Severus.”

 

“Lucius knew I would condone such a potion and neither he nor Dumbledore ever made his spying known to the rest of the order. He never so much spoke a word to me about it.”

 

The Dark Lord’s eyes narrowed dangerously as he stalked toward Severus and gripped him roughly by his long, black hair.  The gathered death eaters shifted their weight and mumbled excitedly to themselves, believing that Severus was moments away from being tortured within an inch of his life. 

 

_ Monsters, all of them. _

 

“You lie as easily as you breathe, Severus. Why should I believe a word out of your vile mouth?” Voldemort hissed, ducking his head to growl directly into Severus’ ear, as though the hot, sticky feel of his breath on his neck would have him foolishly admitting all of his sins. 

 

“Because I came back. If there is one thing that I am not, my lord. It’s stupid. If I had known that Lucius had betrayed you, my former best friend why would I come back here, knowing you’d suspect me next?”

 

Because he was insane, that’s why. 

 

The Dark Lord continued to stare deeply into Severus’s eyes, reaching through the potions master’s mind, searching for any hint of dishonesty, but Severus made sure that there was none to be found. This...man could search the corridors of his mind forever and never find any evidence that was anything but a loyal death eater through and through. 

 

“I’ll take you at your word for today.” The Dark Lord snarled. “But if you so much as step a toe out of line and I’ll personally deliver you to Lucius Malfoy with a stake in your black heart.”

 

Because the soulless snake-talking mad-man was going to comment on the condition of  _ his _ heart. 

 

“Understood.” Severus said sternly, his gaze never leaving the dark lord’s and as though it was nothing but an afterthought, he added. “Sire.”

 

“Crucio.”

 

-

 

His hands shook as he gratefully took the cup of tea Dumbledore offered him and brought it to his lips, somehow managing not to spill a single drop. 

 

“You should have waited to see me until after you had taken care of yourself.” Dumbledore said softly, his eyes sparkling with concern as they watched Severus drink his tea and shift slowly until he was comfortable in the large, wing backed chair he had dubbed as his. 

 

“I’ll be fine. He was simply displeased with my lack of information on Lucius’ betrayal. Thankfully, he seems to believe that I’m still firmly on his side, at least for the moment. I was under the impression that you’d lose your last spy tonight, headmaster.” 

 

The idea of marching off to his death had given Severus pause when he moved to enter his fireplace that evening and he honestly believed that it was only Merlin’s good graces that kept him alive that night. 

 

“Don’t say such things, Severus. I couldn’t stand to lose you.”

 

“Some things are inevitable.” 

  
“Not that.”

 

Severus merely rolled his eyes and took another long sip from his tea cup before placing it back onto the desk to go over what he had learned that night. 

 

“The dark lord plans to attack Hogwarts before the end of the school year.” THe words had Dumbledore freezing unnaturally in his chair and his eyes hardened into twin glaciers as they stared into Severus’ onyx colored orbs. “The Slytherin students have been working on the restoration of a vanishing cabinet and the Dark Lord plans to stealthily move his death eaters using it in order to deceive the wards. “

 

“If that plan fails?” The headmaster asked solemnly, knowing, as most wizards did, that vanishing cabinets were notoriously unreliable, even a brand new cabinet was only able to work half of the time and an ancient one that was relying on a group of under aged wizards to restore it would be lucky to work at all. 

 

Of course the dark lord had a backup plan. 

 

“An outright, attack. He has the dementors, giants, and werewolves on his side, which we knew, he has also gathered a clan of vampires to his cause and has recruited hundreds of new death eaters from within the ministry. His numbers are great enough that he would stand a viable chance against the wards and if they should fall-”   
  


“Hogwarts would fall as well.” Dumbledore finished and Severus merely inclined his head in confirmation. He had known the war was quickly heating up, but to know that it would be at it’s climax in just a few short months...it was unthinkable.

 

The two men sat in complete silence for several minutes. Neither of them bearing to look at the other and instead keeping their gazes locked onto Dumbledore’s desk and the nick-knacks cluttering it. Not even the portraits on the walls dared to make a sound and in fact, most of them had smartly left their frames and left the headmaster and his spy in private.

 

“I’ll have to gather the rest of the horcruxes.” Dumbledore finally said as he pulled out a sheet of parchment and a quill before scanning over the list in front of him and making small corrections. “I had meant to give them more time.”

 

“They’ll have plenty.”

 

That night. Bill Weasley easily snuck past Gringotts security and  stole a golden cup from the Lestrange vault. 

 

Remus Lupin held a strangling Kreature as Sirius Black thoroughly  searched his younger brother’s room and found a golden locket  with emeralds in the shape of an ‘S’ on the surface, under a mountain of unwashed left socks. 

 

The grey lady calmly floated past the whispering seventh year Slytherins in the room of requirement and used every figment of spiritual energy she had to gently lift the diadem from it’s rest place and carry out to Minerva McGonagall, who was patiently awaiting her arrival with a thick canvas tote.

 

After excusing Severus for the night, Dumbledore carefully apparated to the Gaunt house and picked his way through the dust and the rubble. There was a trap down in the floor of the parlor room and and with a twinkle in his blue eyes, the headmaster lifted the door and found a glimmering silver ring with a black stone that had the Peverell house crest carved into its surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought that this chapter would be the first courtship date, but alas I was mistaken. Though there is finally a little bit of plot that doesn't revolve emotional angst!


	20. Every Last Fragment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm a horrible updater, we all know this. Real life stuff had my attention for awhile, keeping me from getting the motivation to write. With that said, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Harry had never been on a boat unless one counted the canoes that the first years took across the black lake when they first arrived at Hogwarts. Those were nothing compared to the monstrosity of a ship that Lucius Malfoy led him onto after meeting the man in his rooms only a few minutes before. 

 

“I thought we were going to dinner.” Harry said in soft wonderment. Screw food, this was even better. 

 

He gingerly took Lucius’ offered hand and boarded the vessel that looked absolutely ancient, though every surface sparkled and shone as though a crew worked full time just to keep it polished. Harry’s eyes trailed up to the huge sails that soared overhead and a grin lit up his face as he haphazardly walked across the ship, bumping into the elegantly set table that didn’t so much as move an inch after the impact. 

 

“We’re having dinner, here.” Lucius laughed, his hands coming to rest on Harry’s hips to keep the veela steady. His front was pressed against the younger man’s back and Harry could feel a blush tinting his cheeks when Lucius didn’t immediately release him and instead kept his hold on the veela for a little longer than would be considered appropriate. 

 

“That sounds incredible.” Harry whispered as Lucius released him and he tried to ignore the regret in the back of his mind and the desire to feel those fingers on him again. 

 

“It will be.”

 

Lucius moved to pull out Harry’s chair for him at the table, but the veela glared at him as though he had just tried to throw him overboard. “I’m not a girl.”

 

“It’s the polite thing to do.”

 

“For girls.”

 

“For anyone.” Lucius laughed, but raised his hands in surrender and let the teen pull out his own chair and sit down. 

 

The moment both men were seated, their first course appeared on the table and the ship lurched forward as all ties keeping it docked were released. 

 

“Is this a normal thing for the Malfoys?” Harry asked as he raised a forkful of salad to his lips. “Dinners on massive boats in- where are we, exactly?” Because Lucius hadn’t said where they were going. 

 

“France. And no, it takes quite a bit of work to arrange for a captain, food, and docking permits. This is only for special occasions.”

 

The words made Harry smile stupidly down toward his food. Lucius honestly thought that dinner with him could be considered a special occasion? He didn’t even know which of the four forks he should be using or what kind of wine he was sipping at. 

 

“Draco always said that your family meals were rather simple in comparison to other pureblood families, though I have the feeling that simple for me is rather different from your definition.” Draco never really talked about his family and Harry suddenly felt a wave of regret, as though he shouldn’t have said anything about it either. 

 

“Yes.” Lucius said softly and Harry’s eyes snapped up to stare into Lucius’ gaze. “I never felt that a three person meal needed a banquet hall and six courses.”

 

“People actually do that?”

 

Because having a meal and dessert was his definition of extravagant.

 

“It’s certainly not uncommon in most pureblood households. When I was growing up, my father was adamant that I dress in my finest robes for each meal, though it was often only him, my mother, and myself.”

 

“But now you all sit around in your pajamas and eat waffles for dinner?”

 

“I wouldn’t go quite that far with it.” Lucius laughed and Harry stared as though entranced by the way his eyes crinkled at the edges and his lips pulled up to reveal perfectly straight white teeth. The man was gorgeous, it was obvious to anyone with eyes and he was all Harry’s. 

 

Harry ducked his head down again as thoughts of truly making Lucius his, flashed through his mind. Bad Harry. This was a first date and it was actually going okay, now was not the time to be thinking about the man bending him over and-

 

_ Bad Harry. _

 

With a little too much force, Harry shoved the last bite of salad into his mouth and placed his fork on the side of the plate, only to jump and nearly choke on his mouthful when the plates disappeared and were replaced with small bowls of steaming orange soup.

 

“Alright there?” Lucius asked with a chuckle. “I should have warned you about that, my apologies.”

 

“It’s fine.” Harry said with a sharp gasp after he swallowed his food and snatched up his water glass. “Should have expected something like that to happen.”

 

“It’s easy to forget that you didn’t grow up in our world.” Lucius told him gently, “that some of the things other witches and wizards take for granted are completely new to you.”

 

“Sometimes I forget too.” Harry replied honestly and smiled at the interested look that Lucius sent across the table. “I feel more at home here than I ever did in the muggle world with my family. It amazes me that I’ve yet to even spend half my life here.”

 

“Unfortunately, you’ve yet to see the best of it. Once this war is over, I’ll make it my personal mission to show you all of the incredible things this world has to offer.” Lucius’ large, warm hand migrated across the table to cover Harry’s own and the teen promptly flipped his hand over to intertwine their fingers.

 

“I’d like that.”

 

Lucius’ gaze flicked downward toward Harry’s mouth and Harry found himself leaning across the table subconsciously, his head tilting forward and to the side in order to slot their mouths together

 

Kissing Lucius was like magic. Pleasure raced down his spine and gooseflesh appeared along his arms and obscene noises tore themselves from his throat. One such noise was a soft whine as Harry brought one hand up to tangle in Lucius’ hair and bring the fae’s head closer to his own. 

 

When his mate made no attempt to deepen the kiss, Harry  released a soft sigh and ran his tongue along the seam of Lucius’ lips. For several moments, Harry believed that Lucius would deny him, but just as he was about to give in to the older man’s desire for a chaste kiss, Lucius opened his mouth ever so slightly and Harry took full advantage. 

 

“We shouldn’t.” Lucius whispered as he pulled away, and Harry drug him back down to continue their kiss. 

 

They most certainly should. 

 

“Harry,” Lucius said when he pulled back for the second time. If the teen hadn’t known any better, he would have sworn that the fae was whining. 

 

“Lucius.” Harry replied smugly and literally climbed across the beautifully set table in  front of him in order to place himself firmly in Lucius’ lap. The other man remained silent as he stared down at Harry and the veela took the opportunity to place sloppy kisses up and down the column of Lucius’ throat.

 

“I thought you wanted to take things slowly?” The blonde asked with a strangled moan as one hand gripped tightly at Harry’s hip while the other tangled in his hair. “To get to know each other.” Despite his words, Lucius arched his neck up beautifully, just begging for Harry’s lips to continue along their path. 

 

“I’m getting to know you very well.”  

 

“That’s not what I meant and you know it, Harry.” 

 

With a soft hurumph, Harry pulled himself away from Lucius and sat back so that his back was resting against the table and his fingertips were just barely brushing the older man’s shoulders. 

 

“I’m seventeen years old. My favorite color is silver. My favorite subject in school is DADA. After I graduate I want to apprentice with Olivander and try my hand at wand making. I grew up with muggles that hated magic almost as much as they hated me. I love playing quidittich. I’m a dark veela with two incredible mates. One of them I love desperately, the other I’m just starting to get to know.  You’re turn.”

 

“That’s not getting to know each other, Harry, that’s memorizing facts.” 

 

“I don’t want to marry you in five minutes, I just want to snog you a little. I think a few facts will suffice for that, don’t you?” Harry asked sweetly and licked his lips as he watched Lucius’ fae markings glow faintly beneath the surface of his skin. 

 

“If it were truly up to me, I’d have you bent over the table by now. It’s you making this difficult. One moment you want to take this slowly, and the next you’re in my lap, offering me things I won’t take because you asked me not to.” Lucius growled and Harry  ran a hand down the fae’s face lovingly. 

 

“Not every touch has to lead to something more.” Harry whispered. “I don’t want to have sex with you because I don’t want that emotional connection right this second. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to pass the time between now and love with a few kisses. But if that makes you uncomfortable-” Harry moved to stand up, only to have Lucius growl loudly and grip at the teen’s hips to keep him in place. 

 

“When I was in school, I wanted to be a curse breaker before I realized that my talents lie in numbers and managing investments. I love charms with a passion, but I have zero talent for it. My favorite color is red and if you tell Draco, I will strangle you. I’m a thirty-eight year old fae with a mate that is going to test every ounce of my self control.” 

 

Then they were kissing again and Harry didn’t care that their food was getting cold. 

 

-

 

“Have fun with Potter?” Severus asked as Lucius walked into his own chambers, causing the fae to jump and place a hand over his mouth to keep from letting out a startled scream. The vampire was sitting on Lucius’ couch, in front of the fireplace, and drinking a glass of dark red liquid that Lucius really hoped was wine. 

 

His hands were shaking as he brought the glass to his mouth and took a deep gulp and Lucius could easily recognize the side effects of the cruciatus curse. 

 

“You went back to him!” Lucius exclaimed and marched across the room to take the seat next to his best friend. “He could have killed you.”

 

“I’ve dealt with that reality every day of my life.” Severus whispered and pulled away from Lucius’ hands as they reached out for him. “Stop mothering me, I took my potions already.” One of Lucius’ hands reached up toward the vampire’s forehead and the younger man promptly let out an aggravated sigh and stood up from his seat and swayed slowly toward the desk. 

 

“I already talked to the headmaster about what I discovered, but I wanted to talk to you too.”  Sweat prickled along Lucius’ skin and fear gripped at his heart. Severus wasn’t a glutton for punishment. He wouldn’t have come here, when he was in this much pain unless something horrible had happened or was about to happen. 

 

He had been so happy today and he had the feeling that it was all about to be washed away. 

 

“He’s coming here, to Hogwarts. Dumbledore is gathering all of the horcruxes tonight in preparation for it, but Lucius-” Severus paused and turned toward the large window that looked over the black lake and gave a perfect view of the full moon that night. “There was something we never told you. It’s not a fact, it’s just a theory but-”

 

“Tell me.” Because if it was important enough to have Severus acting so strangely, then it was definitely something he wanted to know about. 

 

When the vampire didn’t immediately start speaking, Lucius stood up from the couch and slowly walked over to him, only to pause mid-step when he saw tears building in his friend’s onyx eyes. 

 

“What’s going on, Severus?” He reached out a hand to his friend placed it on the vampire’s shoulder. “You’re scaring me and that’s saying something because I’ve lived through a Draco  Malfoy temper tantrum.”

 

“I’m so sorry.” Severus whispered and turned to bury his head in Lucius’ chest. “The headmaster has the theory that Harry is-” A hiccuping sob left Severus’ throat and and ice cold dread filled Lucius’ heart. 

 

“What about Harry?”

 

“We think he’s a horcrux.” Severus whispered and he tightened his hold on an unnaturally still Lucius. 

 

“No.” Lucius said numbly. “Harry doesn’t have a piece of that mad man’s soul in him. He doesn’t.”

 

“You know how angry he was during his fifth year, you know that he suffers from horrible nightmares, you’ve seen his curse mark. Lucius-”

 

“NO!” He screamed and pushed the vampire away from him, only to collapse onto the tiled floor with a heart breaking sob. “He can’t be.”

 

“If he is, you know what that means. We can’t let the Dark Lord continue on, we have to destroy every last fragment.” Severus wasn’t trying to be cruel, he was just trying to give Lucius the truth, but it tore at every filament of Lucius’ being. 

 

“I will kill you before I let you touch him.” Lucius snarled, used a firm hold on Severus’ robes to pull himself to his feet and shake the man like a pitbull with a ragdoll. “If you lay a finger on him, I will make the Dark Lord look kind. He is not a horcrux, Severus. He is a beautiful young man and he’s mine!”

 

“I know, Lucius. It’s just a theory, there’s no concrete proof of this, but I wanted you know. I wanted to give you that time that I never had. Tell him you love him, have him sire a child on you, make the best of every second you have.”

 

Lucius screamed in anguish and shook Severus’ limp body again and again until exhaustion came over him in a wave and sagged against his best friend, tears streaming down his face. 


	21. Confession

“It went well, I take it?” Draco asked as Harry crawled into bed, his hair tousled, his lips swollen, and bruises littering the sides of his neck. He looked absolutely gorgeous and while jealously curled in his gut, the knowledge that it was Lucius that had done this, sent waves of desire through Draco. 

 

Merlin he was disgusting.  Thinking of his father, hell, thinking of the man that was genetically his duplicate in that way…

 

“It did, but what has your forehead all crinkly?” Harry’s long fingers reached up and traced along Draco’s forehead, causing the blonde to close his eyes at the gentle touch and turn his head into Harry’s hand, begging for more. 

 

“It’s nothing.” Draco lied and those wonderful fingers disappeared in an instant.

 

“Don’t lie to me, Draco. What’s the matter?” Harry sounded honestly concerned and it tore at Draco that he was worrying his mate, his perfect, incredible mate, over something like this. 

 

“I was just thinking that you look beautiful right now.” Draco sighed as he opened his eyes only to find a pair of glaring emeralds taking up his field of vision. “I mean...handsome. You look handsome right now.”

 

The glaring didn’t stop and Draco rolled over onto his back to escape his mate’s eyes. If it wasn’t the beautiful comment that had Harry’s wand in a knot, what did?

 

“Why lie to me, Dray? You’re a horrible liar on a normal day and the fact I can feel every emotion going through your mind right now is giving you away.” Harry scooted across the bed until he was laying half on top of Draco and was staring down at him with so much love, desire, and concern that Draco honestly believed his heart was going to break in half. 

 

“Harry-” How was he supposed to tell this man that he desired his own father-twin- original copy-thing? How was he supposed to tell Harry that he had been having dreams about Lucius, Harry and himself? His mate would be disgusted with him and there was no way he was going to let that happen. 

 

“What’s so bad that you can’t tell me? Did you really plan a slumber party with Neville? Are you dating a girl behind my back?”

 

“No!”  Draco said in outrage and watched as Harry’s lips curled up into an amused smile. Obviously the little bastard had just tried to get a rise out of him. 

 

“If not that, then what’s keeping you so tight lipped?” Harry asked and looked up at Draco with wide innocent eyes before latching onto the side of the blonde’s neck and sucking roughly. “Just tell me and we can continue on to other activities, Draco.”

 

“Or we can bring this up after.” Draco  suggested only to have Harry raise an eyebrow and rest his chin on Draco’s clothed chest. 

 

“Nope. Get to talking.” Those big, green eyes were staring up at Draco as the moments passed, he could feel his resolve start to crumble. He loved Harry and he hoped that Harry loved him enough to accept him for the thoughts plaguing his mind. 

  
“I did think that you looked beautiful when you walked in.” Draco whispered as he closed his eyes to keep from seeing his mate’s reaction to his words. If he saw the disgust, the disapproval, it would tear him apart.  “You looked absolutely ravished and knowing that it was father that did that to you-” He was shaking with the fear coursing through him and it was no surprise when Harry gently brushed his fingers over his neck in comfort. 

 

“Dray?”

 

“Knowing that he did that to you, arouses me, Harry. The idea of you and he together does...things to me.”

 

“Like you want me to tell you all about it?” Harry asked seriously, with no hint of disapproval in his tone. When Draco didn’t immediately respond (how in the world was he supposed to?) Harry continued. “Or do you want to watch? I could talk to Lucius about it if you-”

 

“No, Harry.” Draco snapped with more aggression than he was intending. “I mean-” He cracked his eyes opened and stared down into Harry’s loving, adorable eyes and  every ounce of willpower he had to keep this secret, dissolved in an instant. 

 

“Yes, I want to watch, I want to hear about it, but I also want to… participate.”

 

Harry’s eyes lit up like a child’s on Christmas morning and Draco stared up at the younger teen in confusion. Why was he excited about this? Why wasn’t he calling Draco a pervert and throwing himself out of their bed? Why was he still clinging to Draco and peppering kisses along the hollow of the man’s throat?

 

“So a threesome?” Harry asked with glee and Draco numbly nodded his head in confirmation, unable to voice a reply just yet. “Oh, I could totally be okay with that. Me in the middle of two gorgeous men…” Harry’s eyes looked far away for a moment, as though he was actually imagining the scene he had described and a rush of heat traveled down Draco’s spine. 

 

“...or you between your father and I.” Harry whispered and trapped Draco’s face between his hands before the blonde could turn his gaze away, too ashamed to looked his mate in the eye now that he had figured out what Draco really wanted. “That’s what you were trying to say, wasn’t it? You don’t want to just fuck me alongside your father, you want your father to fuck you too, right?”

 

“Yes.” Draco replied and his voice cracked with the word, betraying the emotion that was welling up within him every moment that passed. 

 

“This is just like that dream I had.” Harry whispered mostly to himself, though the words did barely manage to reach Draco’s ears. “I can honestly say that I have no problems with that.”

 

“What dream?” Draco asked, ignoring Harry’s approval for a moment to concentrate on the fact that both he and Harry were having dreams about he and his father. 

 

“Oh, I just-” Now it was Harry’s turn to be bashful and Draco watched as the teen’s cheeks flushed red and his pupils dilated until there was just a tiny ring of green still showing. “I’ve been having these dreams, about you and your father and me and a big bed. I never said anything because they were just dreams, you know? But if you feel this way...maybe we can make them a reality.”

 

No way. No fucking way. It wasn’t possible.

 

“Do these dreams take place in a black room with a black bed?”

 

Harry’s eyes widened impossibly wide and he stared up at Draco completely dumbstruck. “Yes.”

 

“And the last one you had was about a week ago, right? I told my father how I felt? You...mentioned Tom Hiddleston, whoever that is.”

  
“Merlin.” Harry breathed, “you-you saw my dream? Did I send it to you through the bond?” Harry was frantic now, his breath coming in short gasps and he tried to pull away from Draco only to have the blonde pull him into a tight embrace. 

 

Nope. 

 

If Harry was going to make him talk, then he was going to make Harry talk. Suffering should go both ways.

 

“You didn’t send me your dream, Harry. We shared one.” Draco explained calmly and Harry relaxed into his hold and flipped them both over onto their sides so that their heads were both resting on pillows and were able to talk to each other in comfort.    
  


“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, that if you sent me the dream, I would have only been able to watch it. I would have seen everything your mind created, but be unable to participate. However, I did participate, I thought it was my dream, I was in control of my actions.” The heated glare Harry sent him at those words, was enough to have all of the saliva in his mouth dry up in a flash. 

 

“What about Lucius? Did he share it with us, did I send it to him through the bond, or was the fact that he was there just a conjuration of our minds?”

 

“I can’t say.” Draco said honestly. “Did he say anything that you didn’t already know? You can’t learn anything new through a dream, if the information isn’t already in your mind, you can’t build a dream around it.”

 

“He told me he was my mate.” Harry replied. “In the one where you walked in on us-”

 

“When you were riding him?” Yes, Draco remembered that one perfectly, the anguish he had felt seeing his mate choosing someone else over him was absolutely unforgettable. 

  
“Yes. That was more than a week before we found out, but he told me that both you and he were my mates and I didn’t even know such things were possible.”

 

“Then he’s been sharing them with us, probably.” Draco whispered, hope filling his chest as he realized that this meant that his father might have actually accepted Draco’s love of him. Had possibly kissed him willingly and been all too happy to share Harry between them. 

 

He could have them both and that made the knowledge that Harry wasn’t completely his, manageable. 

 

“Then let’s go talk to him.” Harry said simply and tried to roll away from Draco, toward his side of the bed, only to have Draco told him even tighter against himself. “What are you doing? Don’t you want to see if what we’ve been dreaming about is real? This could make everything right between the three of us, Draco! Neither of you would have to be hurt or jealous any more, we could be happy together, don’t you want that?”

 

“Of course I do, Harry.” Draco sighed and nuzzled his face into his mate’s dark hair. “But what if he hasn’t been sharing them or if he has, he’s just been watching them in disgust? Even if we do find out that he’s been participating, that’s not going to magically make everything okay.”

 

“Why not?” Harry asked as he physically pulled himself away from Draco in order to stare into the blonde’s eyes. “All of this angst and hurt is because both of you are stupid and think that the other one is going to steal me away in the night like a helpless maiden and you’re too afraid to talk to each other to see that you’d both be happier if we were all together.”

 

“Harry-” Draco began, not understanding why Harry want to do this so badly? Why was he so willing to ruin everything if things didn’t go as planned?

 

“Draco.” Harry replied sternly, his emerald eyes staring up at the blonde with fire in their depths. There was no way in hell that Draco was getting out of this. 

 

“Harry please, it’s late and-”

 

“Draco.”

 

“He lied to us!” Draco screamed before Harry could cut him off and he watched as Harry’s eyes widened comically and his mouth opened in shock at the Slytherin’s outburst. “He lied to me my whole life and manipulated your bond like it was nothing to him. Yes, I want him, but that doesn’t mean I forgive everything he’s done to us. I don’t want to be happy with him right now, Harry, I want to be angry and-”

 

“I never said that you had to forgive him, Draco.” Harry said softly, reaching up to card his fingers gently through the fae’s hair. “I haven’t forgiven him for what he did to our bond and I sure as hell haven’t forgiven him for the pain he caused you, but just because I’m angry and hurt doesn’t mean I can’t be happy too.”

 

“That’s exactly what it means!”

 

“It just makes it more difficult.” Harry replied with a soft smile. “It means that you have to try to feel something else, you have to work toward it. Locking yourself away and refusing to talk to him, isn’t trying, Draco. It’s wallowing. 

 

“Isn’t being happy worth a bit of effort?”

 

When did Harry become all philosophical? The words sounded like something the veela had read from a book or been told by someone else, something that he found memorable enough to repeat to himself when he felt he needed it. 

 

The words made Draco think of the anger that he had felt coming off of Harry that night Lucius had told them everything. If it had been Draco feeling that kind of rage, he would have been blasting curses at anything that moved, but Harry had bounced back in moments with a smile on his face. Stupid prat.

 

Draco’s eyes closed softly as he heaved out a giant sigh. “Wear your cloak and meet me in front of the Slytherin dorm entrance. I’ll walk with you to his chambers.” A gentle kiss was placed on Draco’s brow just moments before he felt the swoosh of their beds separating. 

 

“Dear Merlin, let this be okay.” Draco whispered to himself. “I couldn’t stand to lose either of them.”


	22. Please Stay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo...Can we pretend that it hasn't been like a year...please?
> 
> Good news yall, I'm a nurse now. Like an RN and everything. I have a new job that I love and people actually think I know what I'm doing and trust me with lives and shit. Meanwhile I'm fantasizing about Harry Potter characters and that's weird. 
> 
> Though I did have a rather interesting conversation with a PA about an anime we both enjoy and I felt less weird about my nerdy interests.

“I’ve been having these dreams.” Said Lucius slowly as his friend placed a cup of tea in front of him. 

 

“Are they of the errotic variety?” Severus deadpanned as he slowly took a sip of steaming coffee, his eyes staring unblinkingly into Lucius’ very soul.

 

Eventually, Lucius had managed to pull himself together and once his sobs had ceased, he had allowed the vampire to lead him over to the small dining table in the corner of the chambers and watched the other man prepare tea and coffee for the two of them in order to soothe their pains and keep them awake long enough to talk.

 

“Yes, Severus, they are, will discussing such things offend your delicate sensibilities?” Lucius growled lowly. 

 

“Of course not, I was just checking.” Severus replied with a lift of his eyebrow. “What has your wand in a knot?”

 

At the moment? Hundreds of things.

 

“Nothing. I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m a little on edge.” He need not say why, since Severus had been the one to personally experience his emotional outburst. 

 

“Yes, yes, and we’re not talking about that tonight. Tonight, we are talking about the perveted sex dreams you’ve been having about your mate.” Severus said lightly and although he meant nothing by the words, they immediately had Lucius frozen in his chair, his tea just inches from his lips.

 

“They are about your mate, aren’t they? You’re not dreaming about me or something, correct? Because I’m a potion’s master, not a mind healer.” 

 

Well, that was enough to pull Lucius from his trance. 

 

“Yes, they are about Harry.” Lucius replied and when Severus arched an eyebrow and waved his hand for Lucius to continue, it was clear that the other man heard the but in that statement as clearly as Lucius did. “However, they also star Draco.”

 

“Which is why you’re acting like a teenage girl and need to talk about them.” Severus promptly stood up from his chair and walked into the tiny kitchenette to pour himself another cup of coffee. Never mind the fact that he had used magic ten minutes ago to make, pour, and serve the beverages from his seat. 

 

“How long have these been going on?”

 

“The first one occured the night that McGonagall suggest I take down the shields at night.” Lucius said honestly and reeled back when Severus turned to give him a murderous glare that could turn the air itself to stone. 

 

“And this is the first I’m hearing of it?”

 

“I didn’t exactly want to share the fact that I’ve been having erotic dreams about my son, Severus. What’s the matter with you?”

 

“I know you rely more on your looks than your intellegence, Lucius, but did it ever seem strange to you that you started having these dreams only when you’re shields around your mating bond are down? Did you ever stop to think that the two might be related? Ever?”

 

“I-”

 

“No, you didn’t. Because you’re stupid.” Severus returned to the table, coffee in hand, and took several deep gulps with his eyes closed before he leveled Lucius with a glare and folded his hands beneath his chin. “You’ve been sharing dreams with them.”

 

“So they know what I’ve been dreaming about?” Lucius asked in horror, his hands coming up to cover his mouth as he took in a single, shaky breath. No wonder Draco wouldn’t talk to him. 

 

“They more than just know about it, Lucius, they’ve lived it. Regulus-” Lucius didn’t mention the way that Severus’ breath caught in his throat at the mention of that name. “Managed to somehow build a dream realm that he could pull me into whenever there was something left unsaid while we were awake. It took us weeks to figure out what was happening. I would have thought you’d be aware of such things after all the research you’ve done.”

 

“I’ve never even heard of that being possible.” Lucius whispered, suddenly sick to his stomach at the thought of all the things he had done to Draco in the most recent dream. How he had taken the other fae as he took Harry, how he had relished the twin moans of pleasure with every thrust. 

 

“Stop it.” Severus sighed and Lucius looked up from his cup of tea in confusion. Stop what? He wasn’t doing anything.  “Stop wallowing.” 

 

“Did you not hear me when I said that they were both active participants? Any deprived things you did together, was consensual.” Severus paused for a moment as he brought his coffee cup to his lips. “In fact, this means you can’t officially court, Potter afterall.”

 

“Of course I can.” Sure, kissing before the regulated time would affect the strength of the bond, but surely a legal courtship was still possible. 

 

“No, because everything that happens in these dream realms are as real as if they happened in this room. I take it that these dreams haven’t been innocent in nature, and since intercourse can only come after the courtship process, I’m rather positive that the legal division of the minitry won’t let the courtship stand.”

 

“But I can still court him.” Lucius said slowly, deciding that making any comments on the nature of his dreams with Harry would only have him blushing wildly like a schoolgirl. “It just won’t be a formal one.” If he wanted to take Harry out on dates and buy him presents, there was nothing that was going to stop him. 

 

“Of course, but that’s what us plebeians call dating.”

 

“The horror.” Lucius chuckled and took a long sip of his black tea as his mind wandered back to Draco. He was the whole reason he had started this conversation with Severus in the first place. 

  
“Draco told me that he has desired me since he was a child.”

 

“He still is a child.” Severus smirked and Lucius sent him the deadliest glare he could manage, although it only made the vampire smile. He did not need to hear this right now! “How do you feel about him?” The dark haired man conceded. 

 

“The same. I desire him and I-” When Lucius paused, Severus reached over and gently took his hand without letting a stray fragment of emotion appear on his face. “I love him differently than a father should love his son.”

 

“If you both feel the same, then what’s the problem? Draco was in control of his actions when he told you this in your dreams, everything you did together was acceptable to both of you.”

 

Lucius could still hear his own name being softly whimpered by Draco, could still feel his son’s long fingers in his hair, could still taste the sugary sweetness of his lips. 

 

“He’s my son.” Lucius whispered and Merlin did those words hurt to voice aloud. It was as though putting them out into the air, made them real, made everything he was feeling toward Draco, suddenly wrong. 

 

“He’s actually your clone.” Severus corrected so matter of fact, that it tore a chuckle from Lucius’ throat. 

 

“That doesn’t make it better. If anything that makes it worse. Not only do I want the man I raised from birth, but he’s also genetically identical to me. Have you ever heard of something so narcissistic?”

 

“Draco isn’t you.” Severus said sternly, “He’s better at potions than you’ll ever be, he loves flying while you can’t even operate a broom, he has no skill for the dark arts while you have plenty, he hates writing while you love it. He doesn’t even look like you-”

 

Oh, this Lucius had to hear.

 

“-not really. His skin is darker than yours-”

 

“He spends more time outdoors.” Lucius interrupted.

 

“-his hair is a shade paler than yours, his eyes are bluer, he’s taller than you were at your age and twice as broad. He’s not you, he’s Draco. Sure, you share the same genetics, but you were raised vastly different, you’ve lived through different things, met different people. You’re far from the same.”

 

Severus’ words brought a watery smile to Lucius’ face. Severus was right, of course, and it made Lucius stupid happy to come to that conclusion. 

 

“Perhaps you’re right.”

  
“I’m always right.”

 

Lucius stared down at his cup of tea and gently twirled the hot liquid around the cup using his magic, causing ripples and waves to cascade over the surface. He could have them both. Good Merlin, he thought it would be a miracle to have Harry so much as consider him, but to have both him and Draco...that was unbelievable and had his heart racing wildly at the possibilities. 

 

The pair sat in complete silence for a few minutes, Severus staring intently at the top of Lucius’ head, while the blonde’s mind was miles away, thinking about his mate and Draco. This silence was finally broken by a loud pounding at the door that had Lucius’  head shooting up and tearing his gaze away from his tea. 

 

“Expecting visitors?” Severus asked mildly, sipping at his refilled cup of coffee, his eyes never leaving Lucius’. “It’s rather late, don’t you think?”

 

“It’s Harry.” Lucius whispered to himself as he stood from his chair and quickly made his way through his chambers to the large, wooden door. 

 

Lucius didn’t believe in coincidences, he knew that magic flowed through everything in this world and when things like this happened, it wasn’t fate that directed it, but magic herself. He and Harry had a magical bond, a rather strong one too, since Harry could feel his pain during his time in the Dark Lord’s clutches, even though his mate bond had been satisfied by another, it was unclear what that bond magic could do when under the current conditions.

 

It didn’t mean that he didn’t still find this incredibly weird. 

 

Slowly, Lucius pulled open his chamber door and eyed the two teenage boys standing in the hallway. Harry was bouncing on his heels, his green eyes bright and childlike as they filled with excitement, while Draco looked as though he’d been dragged to his doom. His blonde hair was sticking up in all directions, his eyes were dilated and red rimmed, and his hands were fidgeting nervously at his sides. 

 

“Can I help you both?” It had to have been nearing midnight by this point and whatever they thought important enough to risk detention and house points was something he wanted to know about. 

 

“We wanted to talk to you.” Harry said simply, a wide smile on his handsome face and realization struck Lucius like an arrow from a crossbow. 

 

They knew. Somehow, they had found out about the dream sharing at the same time Lucius had, well, they suspected at least. Lucius had the feeling that if they knew for a fact that Lucius had been sharing the dreams with them, then Draco wouldn’t look as though Harry had dragged him in front of the Dark Lord as hostess gift. 

 

“Then come on in.” Lucius took a large step back and pushed the door open completely for the two men to step through. “Severus was just leaving.” He looked over his shoulder to give the vampire a pointed glare. 

 

“No I wasn’t. You and I were going to talk about-”

 

“That was tomorrow, Severus. We were done for tonight.” His glare intensified as he lead Draco and Harry closer to the table that the vampire was sitting at, though it only caused Severus to smile even wider and look at him as though he was the most amusing creature he had ever seen. 

 

“Oh yes, now I remember, how forgetful of me.” Severus banished his cup with a wave of his hand and stood up from the table on shaky legs, reminding Lucius that his friend had been through hell and back tonight, despite his snark. “Have a pleasant evening, I’ll see you in the morning.”

 

As he passed, Lucius placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a soft smile of thanks before releasing him and watching as the vampire exited his chambers. The muffled thump of the door pulling closed left Lucius, Harry, and Draco in complete silence and Lucius could feel tension already starting to build in his shoulders in preparation for what was to come. 

 

“Come take a seat.” Lucius whispered as he retook his spot next to his magically warm tea. “Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, juice?”

 

“I think we’re good.” Harry said softly as he sat down across from Lucius, his eyes focusing on Draco, who took the seat beside him, as though looking for confirmation. 

 

“We are.”

 

“Good, in that case we should get right down to business, it is late afterall.” Two pairs of eyes stared up at him in surprise and while Draco looked ready to vomit, Harry immediately opened his mouth to explain why they were there. “You’re here about the dreams, correct?”

 

Lucius honestly didn’t think it was possible for Draco to turn even more green than he already was. 

 

“How did you know?” Harry asked casually, leaning to the side to press his shoulder against Draco’s and causing the fae’s color to nearly return to normal. 

 

“Magic.”

 

“Have you been sharing them or viewing them?” Draco whispered, though his eyes never left the top of the table in front of him. It tore at Lucius’ heart to see his son so afraid, so sure that he was about to be rejected. 

 

“Sharing.” Lucius replied softly and smirked when Draco’s eyes immediately snapped up to meet his gaze. “Though I’m still not quite sure how.”

 

The room was plunged into silence with Harry and Draco staring up at Lucius, waiting for him to continue, to say something else, but Lucius had no idea where to begin.

Lucius didn’t know why he did it. Maybe it was because he was tired and emotionally wrecked from the information Severus had just saddled him with..but has the silence stretched on, the older fae’s resolve finally crumbled. He reached out with a shaky hand and gently gripped Draco’s jaw before pulling him closer and leaning across the table to kiss his son softly on the mouth. 

 

Draco immediately froze and Lucius was horrified to think that this was unwanted, that he was accosting his son and forcing himself on the younger man. However, as quickly as the thought struck, it was wiped away when Draco’s long fingers wrapped around his neck and the boy opened his mouth in greeting and kissed Lucius back for all he was worth. 

 

It was only the table that kept Lucius from pressng their bodies together and running his hands over Draco, exploring every nook and cranny of the younger fae. 

 

“As hot as this is.” Harry whispered huskily, startling Draco into releasing Lucius and puling away as though he’d been burned. “Dray and I have a quidditch game in the morning, so screwing each other on the dining room table probably isn’t a good idea right now.”

 

“You’re right, Harry.” Draco swallowed loudly and turned his wide eyes to Lucius as he licked at his dry lips. “We just came to confirm that you were sharing dreams with us. You are, that’s great, we’ll see you in the morning.” The blonde stood from his chair with a little more force than necessary, nearly toppling the chair over in his haste. 

 

“You only just arrived.” Lucius stood from his chair and slowly stepped toward Draco, his hands out in front of him as though he was approaching a hurt and frantic animal, “Surely ten more minutes isn’t going to affect your sleep schedule more than this late trip already has. We need to talk about this.”

 

Because while Harry seemed perfectly alright with everything that was happening, Draco was obviously having trouble handling the information. He didn’t know if it was his own actions that had caused this reaction in Draco, or something else, but he was set on helping the younger fae as much as he could. 

 

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Draco said calmly, his cold mask smoothly falling into place after years of practice. 

 

“Of course there is. The fact that you’re acting like a frieghtened deer is proof of that!”

 

“I’m not acting like-”

 

“Yes you are, Dray.” Harry smiled, “It’s freaking adorable.” Harry’s hand reached out and gripped Draco’s wrist before pulling him back down into his chair and wrapping an arm around his waist to keep the scowling blonde in place. “Why don’t you tell the nice professor Malfoy what has you acting like you just sat on a catcus.”

 

Lucius watched in amusement as Harry leaned toward his mate and nuzzled at his jaw while emitting a soft crooning sound that had Draco sagging against him.

 

Neat trick.

 

“I really don’t want to talk about this, right now.” Draco whispered, his eyes bearing into Harry’s

 

“I know, you told me.” Harry replied back gently, “you’re angry and you’re upset, but we talked about this, we agreed that you weren’t going to let that be an excuse for you being a little bitch.” The words were said with so much sincerity and love that they almost went right over Lucius’ head and had the older fae staring at Harry in shock. 

 

“Harry!” Draco snarled. 

 

“Draco.” Harry gripped both sides of Draco’s face and turned the blonde’s head until he was facing Lucius. “Speaketh.”

 

Draco fought against Harry’s hold, but the veela’s grip was unyeilding, making it impossible for Draco look away from Lucius and forcing him to close his eyes tightly  to avoid the older fae’s gaze. 

 

“I’m sorry, Draco.” Lucius said softly, realizing from Harry’s words that it was what Lucius had done more so than who he was, that was the cause of Draco’s anxiety. He reached forward and placed his hands over Harry’s, spurring the veela to release his hold and let Lucius take his place. “I can apologiz every day for the rest of my life and that won’t be nearly enough to make up for all of the lies I told and the secrets I kept from you.”

 

Draco’s beautiful blue eyes cracked open slowly and blinked up at Lucius. They were gaurded and unsure, but at least there was something in them, at least Draco hadn’t felt it necessary to put his mask back on. 

 

He needed Draco to understand him, needed to put an end to all of this pain his son was feeling. The three of them only had  a few months left, if Severus’ predictions were correct, and if Lucius had any say in the matter he’d spend every one of those days making these two men happy. If they let him. 

 

“Draco.” Lucius whispered, moving from his chair to kneel in front of the younger fae. “I love you. I’ve loved you for a very long time, longer than can be considered acceptable. Please don’t throw away what the both of us feel because of something stupid I did.” 

 

Tears welled up in Draco’s eyes and he blinked rapidly to clear them, causing a few to trickle down his cheeks. “I should hate you.” He whispered, his body shaking as he let out a single sob that ripped whatever heart Lucius still had, to shreds. “After everything you did, all of the lies you told, I should hate you.”

 

“I agree.” Lucius rubbed Draco’s cheeks with his thumbs, wiping away the tear marks. 

 

“What kind of person does it make me, that I don’t?” Draco sobbed, tilting his head to nuzzle into Lucius’ hands, never once letting his eyes fall from Lucius’ gaze. “That I still love you, despite everything you’ve done?”

 

“I don’t know.” Lucius said honestly, “Probably someone far too good for me.”

 

“Probably.” Draco agreed with a chuckle and leaned forward to rest his forehead against Lucius’. 

 

“Are we okay?” Lucius asked gently, releasng his hold on the sides of Draco’s face to softly run his hands through his short blonde hair. “We’re not going to have to do this every time you see me, are we?”

 

“No, we’re fine.” Draco hesitated for a moment before slowly tilting his head and bringing their lips together in a soft kiss. “Well,” he continued after pulling away, “as fine as we possibly can be.”

 

Lucius didn’t let a frown mare his face and he didn’t voice the question sitting on the tip of his tongue. ‘what was that supposed to mean?’ If Draco was willing to try this, willing to kiss him despite everything he was feeling, then Lucius would be happy with that, there was no need to create conflict where there was none. 

 

There was so much between them, a lifetime of lies, deciet, and hatred, it would take more than one late-night conversation to rectify it all.

 

“Excellent, now it really is time to go.” Harry said as he came to kneel beside Lucius, ensuring that both Malfoys were able to meet his gaze. 

 

“You’re right.” Draco said whistfully as he pulled his eyes from Lucius’ to lock onto Harry’s with a smile pulling at his lips. “It’s getting late.”

 

Harry placed a kiss on Lucius’ jaw and Draco’s lips landed gently on the older man’s forehead. They kissed him for only a moment before they stood up and locked their fingers together. 

 

“Good night, Lucius.” Said Harry.

 

“Good night.” Lucius replied. 

 

_ Please stay.  _

 

“Would you both consider coming here tomorrow? After the game?”

 

Because he was a clingy mate, he could admit to that without pause.

 

“Of course.” Draco replied with a smile that actually managed to meet his eyes. 


	23. Such a Sap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Two chapters in one year! I better be careful or I'll spoil you all.
> 
> Interesting question: Have any of you let your significant other read the fanfiction you read or write? My BF recently tried to read some handwritten fanfic porn I was writing for another fandom and I freaked out and literally tackled him to get it back before he could read it. I felt bad for my crazy and let him read this story on my phone and he got three chapters in and was actually rather impressed. But my god, my heart was pounding. Thankfully he doesn't think I'm any more insane than he already did.

As far as rumors went, Lucius was actually rather surprised by how slowly the news of Harry and Draco’s relationship traveled, it took until almost a week after they had walked into the Great Hall together, before the prophet published the first article that contained a dozen different theories on how Draco had managed to control Harry’s mind. Never mind the fact that the information that they both creatures, was public knowledge and the idea that they were actually mates was a much more reasonable explanation. 

 

Lucius’ involvement in the relationship was still a rather well guarded secret, despite their less than vigilant efforts to hide it. Harry and Draco had already agreed not to lie about the three of them if asked directly, so he imagined that it was only a matter of time before the strange looks that Harry and Draco received when they walked into the Great Hall, would be directed to him as well. 

 

He doubted they’d be as kind. 

 

“I didn’t see you after the game, yesterday.” Severus said mildly as Lucius sat down, earning him the attention of Professors Sprout and McGonagall as well. 

 

“Yes, where did you sneak off to? I was going to discuss the idea of chaperoning the yule ball with you.” McGonagall said, her eyebrows wiggling ever so slightly, so slightly in fact that Lucius believed he must have imagined it, but when she also sent him a knowing look over the top of her glasses, he realized that the witch was well aware of where he had gone and who he had left with. 

 

“I was feeling rather ill and left to lay down.” Lucius lied, actually, he had dragged Harry and Draco back to his chambers, sweaty and gorgeous, and all his.

  
“Uh-huh, I’m sure all of us could do with a good ‘lay about’.” Severus said with a sideways look in Lucius’ direction that had McGonagall chuckling softly under her breath in understanding, though Sprout only nodded in agreement. 

 

“Oh yes, an afternoon nap would be wonderful.”

 

Severus’ entire body stiffened and he released a slow, controlled breath to keep from laughing at the woman’s misunderstanding. 

 

“So, about chaperoning?” Lucius asked, diverting his attention away from his horrible best friend and the herbology instructor, both of whom had started up a conversation on rare potions ingredients, which Lucius could barely follow, let alone engage in. 

 

“Yes, all of the instructors will be taking either the early or the late shift. Since I couldn’t find you yesterday, you’re left with the first shift of the night.”

 

Which meant everyone else wanted the late shift? Pulling teenagers out of carriages and dark corners after they’d partaken in stolen firewhiskey? Why would anyone prefer that over shuffling students into the Great Hall?

 

“You’ll help with the decorating, food preparation, and other miscellaneous set-up tasks.” The transfiguration teacher continued and from the small smirk on Severus’ lips, there was something far more tricky to setting up for the ball than simply hanging fairy lights. Though it didn’t seem either he or McGonagall were going to reveal that information. 

 

“I’ll let you know what time to meet here as the day approaches, it’s still over a month away, afterall.”

 

Which begged the question of why she was assigning chaperone times now….

 

He was about to ask just that question, when the owls came swooping through their opening and began dropping packages and letters into the awaiting hands of their owners. After all of these years, the sight still drew all of his attention.  His eyes found his Eagle owl Fortis and he watched as it swooped down and landed in front of Draco, only to nip ferociously at the blonde’s fingers until he removed the small package tied to its leg. Once his burden was removed, the owl darted forward, grabbed a slice of bacon in its beak and flew away in a mad flailing of wings. 

 

Draco’s eyes darted over to the head table, and locked onto Lucius’ gaze as his long fingers carefully opened the small box, only to turn away in order to see what Lucius had given him.  Harry too, leaned over toward his mate and stared down into the box. When Draco didn’t immediately remove the item, Harry’s fingers snatched the bracelet off the bed of cotton and held it in front of himself.

 

It was a thick silver bangle bracelet, created from several woven silver threads, embedded on the top was a plain emerald oval. It may have been more elaborate than Harry’s, but the meaning was the same. He wanted Draco to be his, just as much as he wanted Harry. 

 

Harry whispered something to Draco, though Lucius couldn’t hear the words from his location, and the younger fae gently reached out and took the bracelet from his mate. He held it in his shaking fingers for so long that Harry and Lucius were exchanging worried glances over the teen’s shoulder and even Harry’s Gryffindor friends were starting to motion toward Draco and then ask something of Harry, most likely if the blonde was alright or not. 

 

Would he wear it? Lucius knew that Draco still had a lot of anger built up in him, he was trying to overcome it and was willing to give Lucius a chance, but would he wear something that would claim him as Lucius’? Even if no one else knew what it meant?

 

The answer was yes. Lucius watched with a wide grin that gave away every feeling of happiness and relief he felt, as Draco slowly slipped the bracelet onto his thin wrist. It immediately resized itself to clamp down delicately on the teen’s wrist and even from across the hall, Lucius could see that his choice had been a good one. It suited Draco perfectly. 

 

“You’re such a sap.” Severus hissed in amusement and Lucius realized just how long he had been staring at his son and Harry. Too long, he was sure, to be considered normal. 

 

“I don’t care.”

 

-

 

Lucius was taking his usual path to his office between classes, when an arm suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the elbow only to pull him into one of the many abandoned classrooms that lined the halls. He had his wand out and at the throat of his assailant before the door had been fully closed behind him, and a curse was on the tip of his tongue, before he realized that it was Draco he had by the neck and was pressing against the stone walls. 

 

Harry was standing a few inches away, having closed the door behind them. 

 

“Don’t sneak up on a man that knows a thousand different ways to kill you, unless you want to discover one of those ways for yourself!” He exclaimed as he placed his wand back into his cane and stepped away from a panting Draco. 

 

“Sorry.” Harry said earnestly, stepping toward Lucius to place a comforting hand over the one that was currently gripping his cane in a death hold. “We wanted to talk to you.”

 

“And you couldn’t have come to my office?” Because he was sure that both of these men were well aware of his office schedule and that option was much less likely to get them killed. 

 

“But anyone can walk into your office.” Harry replied and Lucius’ eyes locked onto his mate’s in an instant. 

 

Oh. 

 

“And we didn’t think you’d want just anyone seeing us give you these.” Draco held out a drawstring pouch with a wide smile on his handsome face. 

  
So that’s not what he expected. At all. 

 

Lucius slowly took the pouch from Draco, his eyes scanning back and forth between the two men in curiosity. What was so important that they had pulled him into an abandoned classroom to give it to him?

 

“Well, I wouldn’t care if anyone saw us give them to you, rather I wanted to do other things after we gave them to you that would be a little mind scarring for anyone else to witness.” Harry corrected, mysteriously and the words brought a smile to Lucius’ face. That’s what he had expected.

 

With a single, quick movement, Lucius pulled the drawstring opening apart and dumped the small items into the palm of his hand. The first item was a silver lion pendant with emerald eyes and he held it up by the chain, allowing the firelight from the torches to cascade across the surface. 

 

“Harry made that.” Draco said proudly as he pulled out a matching pendant from underneath his shirt. 

 

“You...made it?” Lucius asked in surprise as he turned toward the teen, who had his gaze directed at the floor. 

 

“Yeah, it was a project in the first chapter of my beginers wand crafting book. It’s a little transfiguration, conjuration, and a whole lot of chanting, but it wasn’t difficult.” 

 

Lucius couldn’t sense any magic on the pendant at all, if he’d been asked he would have said that it was muggle made, but if Harry had used magic to make it yet left none of his magical signature behind...that would have been very difficult despite what Harry said. 

 

“What did you start with?”

 

“Nothing.” Draco said before Harry could so much as open his mouth. His eyes were bright with pride and Harry merely rolled his eyes at his mate’s praise. 

  
“I think you’ll make an excellent wand crafter, Harry.” Lucius said softly, causing the teen to smile widely at the compliment. 

 

It had been a long time since anyone but Ollivander and his family supplied the wizarding world with it’s wands. It was a difficult trade to master, but if Harry could do this at his young age, Lucius had no doubts that the old wand maker would have some serious competition on his hands in a few years. 

 

“Thank you, but it really is nothing.”

 

Lucius deemed it unnecessary to fight with the boy over his own talents, if he wanted to believe this was nothing but a simple bit of magic, Lucius would let him. For now. 

 

With an amused shake of his head, Lucius looped the pendant chain around his neck and picked up the ring still resting on his palm. It was in the shape of a silver dragon ouroboros, with emerlad eyes and splayed wings. There were dozens of protection charms woven into the metal work that seemed to vibrate under Lucius’ questing fingers and Draco’s magical signature was coming off of it in waves. 

 

“Both of these took time.” Lucius said as he slipped the ring onto his finger and turned to look at both of his mates. “You didn’t make them today after my gift in the Great Hall.” That’s where his mind had immediately gone; he had assumed that these were only given because of a sense of misplaced guilt. However, the pendant should have taken hours, and the protection charms on the ring needed to sit and solidify before wearing. 

 

“No. We started on them yesterday afternoon, after...well, after. Neither of us were sure of the best time to give them to you, but after this-” Draco held up his wrist, which was wrapped in the silver bangle he had recieved that morning, “-we decided today would be the perfect oppertunity.”

 

Draco’s cheeks were tinted a delicate shade of pink, though his eyes remained focused and unyielding as they stared into Lucius’. He was absolutely gorgeous when embarrased and trying not to show it.

 

“Well, I appreciate them.” Lucius remarked and stepped forward to place one hand on Harry’s cheek and his other hand on Draco’s. “I  _ like _ belonging to both of you.”

 

“Don’t say things you aren’t prepared to back up.” Draco said lowly, causing Harry to huff out an amused chuckle. The younger fae’s eyes were narrowed dangerously and there was a predatory gleam to his blue irises. 

 

“I don’t understand.” Said Lucius slowly as Draco nuzzled into his hand, his eyes never leaving Lucius’ while Harry began trailing kisses up the older fae’s neck. 

 

“Draco’s a little possessive.” Harry explained against the sensitive skin of Lucius’ jaw. 

 

“Very possessive.” Draco corrected as his lips met the inside of Lucius’ wrist. “And I’m more than willing to demonstrate just how completely you belong to me now.” Those soft, velvety lips moved up his arm before appearing on his neck, opposite the side Harry was currently marking rather thoroughly.

 

“I’m not a keeper.” Lucius whispered breathlessly and released a tiny moan of disappointment, when Draco lifted his head to look the older man in the eye. 

 

“No,  you just haven’t played keeper.” The teen corrected smugly, “And you’re not going to today.” With a gentle hand in Harry’s hair, the younger fae pulled the veela way from Lucius and kissed him roughly. Harry released a deep, rumbling growl that went directly to Lucius’ cock and had it straining it against the material of his trousers.

 

“That’s my Tiger.” Draco whispered and pushed Harry down into one of the desk and chair combinations before turning his full attention to Lucius. He grabbed the older man by his shoulders and pushed him backward onto the teacher’s desk, so that he was lying on his back. 

 

“Am I watching?” Harry asked conversationally from his seat, a single eyebrow raised and his fist tucked under his chin. 

 

“Yes.” Draco replied without looking away from Lucius and with a wave of his hand, every scrap of fabric covering Lucius disappeared in with a pop and reappeared at Harry’s feet. 

 

“Do I get a reward for being good?”

 

“Of course.” Draco turned his attention back to Lucius with a smirk, “Harry hates watching but he loves rewards so we’re going to see how well he behaves.”

 

“Draco, I have office hours and anyone could walk-”

 

“The doors are warded and a silencing spell is already in place and I’m sure you can think of a reasonable excuse if you’re missed”

  
  


As though to keep Lucius from arguing any further, Draco all but threw himself ontop of the older fae and pressed their lips together gently, sliding his tongue into Lucius’ mouth almost immediately and coaxing it to tangle with his own. 

 

Lucius sank into the kiss with a moan, his entire body going slack against the hard wood of the desk and his hands moving up to cradle Draco’s jaw and to run his fingers through the fae’s hair. He still wasn’t sure what Draco planned to do with him, but he trusted him and if Draco was planning something half as good as the other times they’d been together, then the boy could do as he pleased. 

 

Without pulling away, Draco’s clothes disappeared in a subtle woosh of air and Lucius could finally feel the other fae’s silky smooth skin against his, causing him groan deeply into Draco’s mouth before throwing his head back with a hiss when the teenager ground his hips into Lucius’. 

 

Draco’s lips appeared on the side of Lucius’ neck as the teen chuckled warmly at the older man’s reaction. Those lips then began trailing down Lucius’ chest, his abdomen and his groin before resting gently against Lucis’ cock. He could feel the warm breath of the fae and he whimpered lightly as he gazed down at the boy, who was staring up at him as though waiting to meet Lucius’ eyes before he swallowed down the cock in front of him. 

 

“Good Merlin.” Lucius gasped, his fingers instinctively tangling in Draco’s hair as he bucked up into that wet heat. 

 

Draco let out a soft growl, chirp, moan sound that was far more adorable than it was scary, and his hands reached out to grip Lucius’ hands pen them to the desk while at the same time using his wrists to keep Lucius’ hips down as well.

 

“Isn’t he cute when he growls?” Harry asked and Lucius looked over to find the teen staring at the pair of them with his pupils blown wide and his fingers digging dangerously into the wood of his own desk. “Like a kitten.”

 

Draco’s mouth released Lucius’ cock with a soft pop and he spun his head around to stare at Harry over his shoulder. “You just couldn’t let me work in peace, could you?”  He sighed, which only caused Harry to bite his lip and raise his eyebrows until they nearly met his hairline. 

 

“I’ll be good.”

 

Draco released a disbelieving sigh before turning his head back toward Lucius. “I apologize for the interruption.”

  
“I assure you that I don’t mind.” Draco smirked at his words and slowly climbed back ontop of Lucius, moving the older man’s wrists until they were on either side of his head, but still in the vice-like grip from before. 

 

He leaned forward and slowly kissed Lucius while he tranferred his hold of Lucius’ wrists to one hand, lifting the older man’s arms above his head, his fingers grasping at the edge of the desk. 

 

“You’re mine.” Draco whispered and bit gently on Lucius’ lower lip before soothing the sting with his tongue. 

 

“And you’re mine.” Lucius replied with a soft smile, though Draco cocked his head at the words and shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Sure.” The words were said with enough hesitancy to make Lucius pause and stare up at Draco’s beautiful face. 

 

“He’s a complete animal.” Said Harry with a sigh from his position across the room. “He won’t truly think of himself being yours until you wrap your hands around his throat and fuck him until he’s screaming into his pillow. As possessive and dominating as he tries to act, I think he does it just because he wants someone to thoroughly claim  _ him. _ ”

 

“You are not getting a reward, Harry.” Draco half laughed half growled. “I didn’t tell him any of your secrets!”

 

As though Lucius was a complete afterthought, Draco kept his eyes firmly on Harry and lifted himself up before sinking himself down onto Lucius’ cock. 

 

“Good Merlin!” Lucius growled, valiantly pulling at the hold around his wrists in an attempt to lay his hands on Draco. However, the teen had a iron grip on him and kept the older man’s hands firmly above his head. 

 

Draco  looked away from Harry and finally gave Lucius his full attention. He smirked down at the older fae and slowly lifted himself once again and slammed his hips back down against Lucius’. The teenager set a punishing pace that tore whimpers of frustration from Lucius’ throat and had him throwing his head back in ectasy. 

 

They hadn’t done anything like this. Their dreams had consisted of both of them focusing on Harry and the one time they had been together since their confession was more...conventional...with both of them participating evenly. Lucius had never felt this helpless during sex, had never felt like his partner was so wholly intent on pleasuring  _ him _ instead of accepting the pleasure they were both building.

 

It could have easily felt like Draco was taking his pleasure from him, but...it didn’t. Every twist of Draco’s hips, slow slid upward and a forceful slam of his hips downward, was meant to make Lucius feel good, if the price he had to pay was to lose the use of his hands, he’d pay it. 

 

“Look at you, coming undone under me.” Draco whispered lowly, leaning forward to press his forehead against Lucius’ and force their eyes together. “You’ve never had anyone  _ own you _ , have you?”

 

“No.” Which was the truth, sure, he’d had lovers over the years for pleasure and for politics when necessary, but he’d never had someone that belonged to him and had never belonged to anyone else either. 

 

Draco smirked down at him as his voice cracked and his breathing hitched with each slap of their hips together. “Don’t you dare come. I’m not above cursing you for misbehavior, Lucius.” The teen growled and clenched his muscles painfully around Lucius’ cock. 

  
“You don’t get to come until after I do. That’s only polite, right?”

“Yes. Ah, Draco!” Lucius screamed as Draco bent his head and roughly bit into the side of Lucius’ neck. It wasn’t hard enough to draw blood, but it would most certainly be bruised and noticeable in the morning.  The younger man didn’t move his mouth, but he did release his hold on the skin and peppered kisses and licks over the new mark, all the while working his hips up in a down in a  brutal pace that made it hard to breathe, let alone think coherently.

 

“I want you to remember that you’re mine all day tomorrow.” Draco whispered as his lips moved up to Lucius’ ear as his free hand gently rang through the older man’s hair. “I want you to feel it every time you move your head, want you to worry that someone is going to see through your glamour every time they turn to look at you.”

 

Lucius released a strangled whimper at his son’s words. They were doing unspeakable things to him, heightening his arousal until he thought his orgasm was completely inevitable. 

 

“Yours.” He whispered, meeting Draco’s eyes with a groan as he lifted his lips ever so slightly to meet Draco’s downward thrust. 

 

“Yes. Say it again.” The other fae ordered and released Lucius’ hands in order to craddle the older man’s face in his palms. His hips were pistoning up and down and his breath was coming in soft gasps. Obviously, the boy was close and with his newly freed hands, Lucius reached between their bodies to wrap a hand around Draco’s cock.

 

“Yours.”

 

“Again.”

 

“Yours.” 

 

Draco released a whimpering whine before placing his forehead against Lucius’ and closing his eyes tightly as he came all over Lucius’ stomach and chest. The tightening of the younger fae’s muscles and the last downward motion of the teen’s hips, was enough to send him following Draco off the edge as he came inside of him. 

 

“Alright.” Draco gasped, “No breath play required, I’m yours, too.”

 

“That’s the orgasm talking.” Harry laughed and Lucius jumped at the sound, having momentarily forgotten that his mate was in the room watching them together. 

 

“Probably.” Draco groaned and Lucius was tempted to mimic the sound when he felt Draco slowly lift himself off of Lucius and the desk. “But human Draco is convinced at least.”

 

Harry smiled softly at his bowlegged mate and with a wave of his hand, both Draco and Lucius were fully clothed and harry moved forward to wrap his arms around the younger fae’s waist. “Is either Draco willing to reward me for my patience?”

 

Lucius chuckled lowly at the hopeful words and stiffly sat up so that he was perched lightly on the edge of the desk. If it was up to him, he’d give Harry whatever he wanted for his show of rather iron-clad self control, but he was incredibly interested to see what Draco’s reaction would be. 

 

“Despite your earlier hiccups, you did very well, Tiger. So yes, you can have a reward. Whatever you want.”

 

Harry’s eyes lite up with a promise of mischief. 

 

“Back and wing massage, thirty minute minimum.” Harry replied wistfully, his hands curling around themselves as he closed his eyes tightly. “That sounds incredible.”

 

That most certainly wasn’t what Lucius thought the teen would request.

 

“Deal.” Draco gripped Harry by the front of his robes and kissed him roughly for a moment before releasing him. 

 

“As enjoyable as this was.” Lucius said softly, not wanting to end this but knowing that he couldn’t spend the entire day locked in here with his mates, no matter how much he wanted to. “I do have obligations that I must attend to.” 

 

He jumped off of the desk and arranged his robes and hair to ensure that all evidence of their encounter was covered. With a groan, he picked up his forgotten cane and made his way to the door, only to have a pair of arms wrap around his middle.

 

“You forgot the glamour.” Harry laughed and Lucius stiffened at the wave of magic that caressed the side of his neck, where Draco had gnawed on him like a wild animal. 

 

“Thank you, Harry.”

 

“Of course.” A hand softly rested on his cheek and turned his face toward Harry so that the veela could place a chaste kiss on his lips. “Have a good day.”

 

“We’ll talk to you, tomorrow.” Draco stated as Harry pulled away and Lucius smiled sadly at the two of them in response. He wanted to sleep with them in his arms, wanted to spend every second of every day with them, but he couldn’t and he’d take whatever he could get from them. 

 

“Tomorrow then.” With that said, Lucius stepped out of the room and headed down the hallway toward his office. 


End file.
